SPANISH  -AND-1NDIAN 

PLACL-NAMLS'OF 

CALIFORNIA 

THL1R  MEANING  AND  FHLIR  ROMANCE 


NELLIE  VAN  DE  GRIFf  SANCHEZ 


liJ, 


SPANISH  AND  INDIAN  PLACE  NAMES 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


MONUMENT  TO  JUNIPERO  SERRA  IN  GOLDEN  GATE  PARK 

"His  memory  still  rests  like  a  benediction  over  the  noble 
State  which  he  rescued  from  savagery." 


SPANISH  AND 

INDIAN  PLACE  NAMES 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

THEIR  MEANING  AND  THEIR  ROMANCE 

BV 

NELLIE  VAN  DE  GRIFT  SANCHEZ 

AUTHOR  OF 
"THE  LIFE  OF  MRS.  ROBERT  LOUIS  STEVENSON" 


SAN  FRANCISCO: 

A.  M.  ROBERTSON 

1922 


Copyright  1914 

Copyright  1922 

Bv  A.M.  Robertson 


BRUCE  BROUGH,  PRINTER:    SAN  FRANCISCO 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSE'  OF  r.A    fFORNIA 
SANTA  BARBARA 


c. 


TO  MY  SON 


AN  ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

The  author  wishes  to  express  grateful  appreciation 
of  generous  aid  given  in  the  preparation  of  this  book 
by  Herbert  E.  Bolton,  Ph.  D.,  Professor  of  American 
History  in  the  University  of  California. 

Acknowledgment  is  also  due  to  Dr.  A.  L.  Kroeber, 
Assistant  Professor  of  Anthropology,  Dr.  Harvey  M. 
Hall,  Assistant  Professor  of  Economic  Botany,  Dr. 
John  C.  Merriam,  Professor  of  Palaeontology,  Dr.  An- 
drew C.  Lawson,  Professor  of  Geology  and  Mineral- 
ogy, all  of  the  University  of  California;  Mr.  John 
Muir,  Father  Zephyrin  Engelhardt,  O.  F.  M.,  Mr. 
Charles  B.  Turrill,  of  San  Francisco,  A.  C.  Pillsbury, 
and  many  other  persons  in  various  parts  of  the  state 
for  their  courtesy  in  furnishing  points  of  information. 

For  the  sources  used  in  the  work,  the  author  is  in- 
debted, in  great  measure,  to  the  Bancroft  Library  at 
the  University  of  California,  and  to  the  many  writers 
from  whose  works  quotations  have  been  freely  used. 


"NONE  CAN  CARE  FOR  LITERATURE  IN  ITSELF  WHO  DOES 
NOT  TAKE  A  SPECIAL  PLEASURE  IN  THE  SOUND  OF  NAMES; 
AND  THERE  IS  NO  PART  OF  THE  WORLD  WHERE  NOMEN- 
CLATURE IS  SO  RICH,  POETICAL,  HUMOROUS,  AND  PIC- 
TURESQUE AS  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  .  .  . 
THE  NAMES  OF  THE  STATES  AND  TERRITORIES  THEMSELVES 
10MM  A  CHORUS  OF  SWEET  AND  MOST  ROMANTIC  VOCABLES; 
.  .  .  THERE  ARE  FEW  POEMS  WITH  A  NOBLER  MUSIC 
FOR  THE  EAR;  A  SONGFUL,  TUNEFUL  LAND;  AND  IF  THE 
NEW  HOMER  SHALL  ARISE  FROM  THE  WESTERN  CONTINENT, 
HIS  VERSE  WILL  BE  ENRICHED,  HIS  PAGES  SING  SPON- 
TANEOUSLY, WITH  THE  NAMES  OF  STATES  AND  CITIES 
THAT  WOULD  STRIKE  THE  FANCY  IN  A  BUSINESS  CIRCULAR." 

ROBERT  LOUIS  STEVENSON. 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

Page 

INTRODUCTION 3 

CHAPTER  II 
CALIFORNIA 13 

CHAPTER  III 
IN  AND  ABOUT  SAN  DIEGO 27 

CHAPTER  IV 
LOS  ANGELES  AND  HER  NEIGHBORS 53 

CHAPTER  V 
IN  THE  VICINITY  OF  SANTA  BARBARA      ....         89 

CHAPTER  VI 
THE  SAN  LUIS  OBISPO  GROUP 119 

CHAPTER  VII 
IN  THE  NEIGHBORHOOD  OF  MONTEREY  ....      133 

CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  SANTA  CLARA  VALLEY 167 

CHAPTER   IX 
AROUND  SAN  FRANCISCO  BAY  .      .  187 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


CHAPTER  X 
NORTH  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO 245 

CHAPTER  XI 
THE  CENTRAL  VALLEY 271 

CHAPTER  XII 
IN  THE  SIERRAS 299 

PRONUNCIATION  OF  SPANISH  'NAMES      ....      337 

CHAPTER  XIII 
FINAL  LIST  AND  INDEX  .  349 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


Facing  Page 

Mission  of  San  Diego  De  Alcala,  Founded  in  1769  23 

Mission  of  San  Antonio  De  Pala,  Founded  in  1816  29 

Archway  at  Capistrano 39 

Mission  of  San  Gabriel  Arcangel,  Founded  in  1771  67 

Mission  of  Santa  Barbara 91 

Mission  of  Santa  Inez,  Founded  in  1804    ....  113 

Mission  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  Founded  in  1772    .     .  120 

Mission  of  San  Miguel,  Founded  in  1797   ....  125 

Monterey  in  1850 135 

Mission  of  San  Carlos  Borromeo,  Founded  in  1770  139 

Interior  of  the  Quadrangle  at  San  Carlos  Mission  143 

La  Punta  De  Los  Cipreses 149 

Mission  of  San  Juan  Bautista,  Founded  in  1797      .  155 

Mission  of  Santa  Clara,  Founded  in  1777  ....  169 

The  Palo  Colorado  (Redwood  Tree) 175 

The  City  of  Yerba  Buena  (San  Francisco  in  1846- 

1847) 189 

Mission  of  San  Francisco  De  Asis,  commonly 

called  Mission  Dolores 197 

The  Golden  Gate 203 

The  Farallones 211 

Tamalpais 217 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


The  Mission  of  San  Rafael,  Founded  in  1817      .     .  225 

Napa  Valley 247 

Mount  Shasta     .     . 257 

El  Rio  De  Los  Santos  Reyes   (The  River  of  the 

Holy  Kings) 280 

In  the  Sierra  Nevadas 285 

In  the  High  Sierras 293 

El  Rio  De  Las  Plumas  (Feather  River)     ....  301 

El  Rio  De  Los  Americanos  (American  River)   .     .  307 

Shore  of  Lake  Tahoe 315 

Mariposa  Sequoias 321 

Vernal  Falls  in  the  Yosemite  Valley 327 

Map  of  the  Missions 345 

Kaweah  Mountains 389 

The  Mission  of  Purisima  Conception,  Founded  in 

1880 419 

The  Tallac  Trail  to  Tahoe  .  447 


T  H  !•:  I  R       M  E  A  N  I  N  C,       AND       ROMANCE 


INTRODUCTION 

This  volume  has  been  prepared  in  the  hope 
that  it  may  serve,  not  only  as  a  source  of  enter- 
tainment to  our  own  people,  but  also  as  a  useful 
handbook  for  the  schools,  and  as  a  sort  of  tour- 
ist's guide  for  those  who  visit  the  state  in  such 
numbers,  and  who  almost  invariably  exhibit  a 
lively  interest  in  our  Spanish  and  Indian  place 
names. 

We  of  California  are  doubly  rich  in  the  matter 
of  names,  since,  in  addition  to  the  Indian  nomen- 
clature common  to  all  the  states,  we  possess  the 
splendid  heritage  left  us  by  those  bold  adven- 
turers from  Castile  who  first  set  foot  upon  our 
shores.  In  these  names  the  spirit  of  our  romantic 
past  still  lives  and  breathes,  and  their  sound  is 
like  an  echo  coming  down  the  years  to  tell  of 
that  other  day  when  the  savage  built  his  bee- 
hive huts  on  the  river-banks,  and  the  Spanish 
caballero  jingled  his  spurs  along  the  Camino 
Real. 

And  in  what  manner,  it  may  well  be  asked, 
have  we  been  caring  for  this  priceless  heritage, — 
to  keep  it  pure,  to  preserve  its  inspiring  history, 

3 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


to  present  it  in  proper  and  authentic  form  for  the 
instruction  and  entertainment  of  "the  stranger 
within  our  gates,"  as  well  as  for  the  education  of 
our  own  youth  ?  As  the  most  convincing  answer 
to  this  question,  some  of  the  numerous  errors  in 
works  purporting  to  deal  with  this  subject,  many 
of  which  have  even  crept  into  histories  and 
books  for  the  use  of  schools,  will  be  corrected  in 
these  pages. 

In  the  belief  that  the  Spanish  and  Indian 
names  possess  the  greatest  interest  for  the  pub- 
lic, both  "tenderfoot"  and  native,  they  will  be 
dealt  with  here  almost  exclusively,  excepting  a 
very  few  of  American  origin,  whose  stories  are 
so  involved  with  the  others  that  they  can  scarcely 
be  omitted.  In  addition,  there  are  a  number  that 
appear  to  be  of  Anglo-Saxon  parentage,  but  are 
in  reality  to  be  counted  among  those  that  have 
suffered  the  regrettable  fate  of  translation  into 
English  from  the  original  Spanish.  Of  such  are 
Kings  County  and  River,  which  took  their  names 
from  El  Rio  de  los  Santos  Reyes  (the  River  of  the 
Holy  Kings),  and  the  Feather  River,  originally 
El  Rio  de  las  Plumas  (the  River  of  the  Feathers) . 

In  the  search  for  the  beginnings  of  these 
names  through  the  diaries  of  the  early  Spanish 
explorers  and  other  sources,  a  number  of  curious 
stories  have  been  encountered,  which  are  shared 

4 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


with  the  reader  in  the  belief  that  he  will  be  glad 
to  know  something  of  the  romance  lying  behind 
the  nomenclature  of  our  "songful,  tuneful"  land. 

It  is  a  matter  of  deep  regret  that  the  work 
must  of  necessity  be  incomplete,  the  sources  of 
information  being  so  scattered,  and  so  often  un- 
reliable, that  it  has  been  found  impossible  to 
trace  all  the  names  to  their  origin. 

Indian  words  are  especially  difficult;  in  fact, 
as  soon  as  we  enter  that  field  we  step  into  the 
misty  land  of  legend,  where  all  becomes  doubt 
and  uncertainty.  That  such  should  be  the  case 
is  inevitable.  Scientific  study  of  the  native  Cali- 
fornian  languages,  of  which  there  were  so-many 
as  to  constitute  a  veritable  Babel  of  tongues 
among  the  multitude  of  small  tribes  inhabiting 
this  region,  was  begun  in  such  recent  times  that 
but  few  aborigines  were  left  to  tell  the  story  of 
their  names,  and  those  few  retained  but  a  dim 
memory  of  the  old  days.  In  view  of  the  unsatis- 
factory nature  of  this  information,  stories  of 
Indian  origin  will  be  told  here  with  the  ex- 
press qualification  that  their  authenticity  is  not 
vouched  for,  except  in  cases  based  upon  scien- 
tific evidence.  Some  of  the  most  romantic  among 
them,  when  put  to  the  final  test  of  such  inves- 
tigation, melt  into  thin  air.  In  a  general  way,  it 
may  be  said  that  Indian  names  were  usually 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


derived  from  villages,  rather  than  tribes,  and 
that,  in  most  cases,  their  meaning  has  been  lost. 

In  the  case  of  Spanish  names,  we  have  a  rich 
mine  in  the  documents  left  behind  by  the  meth- 
odical Spaniards,  who  maintained  the  praise- 
worthy custom  of  keeping  minute  accounts  of 
their  travels  and  all  circumstances  connected 
therewith.  From  these  sources  the  true  stories 
of  the  origin  of  some  of  our  place  names  have 
been  collected,  and  are  retold  in  these  pages,  as 
far  as  possible,  in  the  language  of  their  founders. 
Unfortunately,  the  story  can  not  always  be  run 
to  earth,  and  in  such  cases,  the  names,  with  their 
translation,  and  sometimes  an  explanatory  para- 
graph, will  appear  in  a  supplementary  list  at 
the  end  of  the  volume.  The  stories  have  been 
arranged  in  a  series  of  groups,  according  to  their 
geographical  location,  beginning  with  San  Diego 
as  the  most  logical  point,  since  it  was  there  that 
the  first  mission  was  established  by  the  illus- 
trious Junipero  Serra,  and  there  that  the  history 
of  California  practically  began.  The  arrange- 
ment of  these  groups  is  not  arbitrary,  but,  in  a 
general  way,  follows  the  course  of  Spanish  Em- 
pire, as  it  took  its  way,  first  up  the  coast,  then 
branching  out  into  the  interior  valley,  and  climb- 
ing the  Sierras. 

Some  of  the  stories  may  appear  as  "twice-told 
tales"  to  scholars  and  other  persons  to  whom 

6 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


they  have  long  been  familiar,  but  are  included 
here  for  the  benefit  of  the  stranger  and  the  many 
"native  sons"  who  have  had  no  opportunity  to 
become  acquainted  with  them. 

A  few  words  in  regard  to  the  methods  of 
naming  places  customary  among  the  Spanish 
explorers  may  help  the  reader  to  a  better  under- 
standing of  results.  The  military  and  religious 
members  of  the  parties  were  naturally  influ- 
enced by  opposite  ideas,  and  so  they  went  at  it 
in  two  different  ways.  The  padres,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  almost  invariably  chose  names  of  a 
religious  character,  very  often  the  name  of  the 
saint  upon  whose  "day"  the  party  happened  to 
arrive  at  a  given  spot.  This  tendency  resulted 
in  the  multitude  of  Sans  and  Santas  with  which 
the  map  of  our  state  is  so  generously  sprinkled, 
and  which  are  the  cause  of  a  certain  monotony. 
Fortunately  for  variety's  sake,  the  soldiers  pos- 
sessed more  imagination,  if  less  religion,  than 
the  padres,  and  were  generally  influenced  by 
some  striking  circumstance,  perhaps  trivial  or 
humorous,  but  always  characteristic,  and  often 
picturesque.  In  many  cases  the  choice  of  the 
soldiers  has  out-lived  that  of  the  fathers. 

Broadly  speaking,  it  may  be  said  that  names 
were  first  applied  to  rivers,  creeks  or  mountains, 
as  being  those  natural  features  of  the  country 

7 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


most  important  to  the  welfare,  or  even  the  very 
existence,  of  the  exploring  parties.  For  instance, 
the  Merced  (Mercy)  River  was  so  called  because 
if  was  the  first  running  water  encountered  by  the 
party  after  having  traversed  forty  miles  of  the 
hot,  dry  valley.  Then,  as  time  passed  and  the 
country  developed,  towns  were  built  upon  the 
banks  of  these  streams,  frequently  receiving 
the  same  names,  and  these  were  often  finally 
adopted  to  designate  the  counties  established 
later  in  the  regions  through  which  their  waters 
flow.  In  this  way  Plumas  County  derived  its 
name  from  the  Feather  River,  originally  El  Rio 
de  las  Plumas,  and  Kings  County  from  El  Rio 
de  los  Reyes  (the  River  of  the  Kings) .  This  way 
of  naming  was,  however,  not  invariable. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  the  name  has  dis- 
appeared from  the  map,  while  the  story  remains, 
and  some  such  stories  will  be  told,  partly  for 
their  own  interest,  and  partly  for  the  light  they 
throw  upon  a  past  age. 

The  frequent  repetition  of  the  same  names  in 
different  parts  of  the  state  has  made  it  imprac- 
ticable to  locate  them  all  geographically,  but  the 
definition  in  one  case  usually  applies  to  all  bear- 
ing the  same  name,  although  the  circumstances 
of  the  naming  may  be  different. 

Among  our  Spanish  names  there  is  a  certain 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


class  given  to  places  in  modern  times  by  Ameri- 
cans in  a  praiseworthy  attempt  to  preserve  the 
romantic  flavor  of  the  old  days.  Unfortunately, 
an  insufficient  knowledge  of  the  syntax  and 
etymology  of  the  Spanish  language  has  resulted 
in  some  improper  combinations.  Such  names, 
for  instance,  as  Monte  Vista  (Mountain  or  Forest 
View) ,  Loma  Vista  (Hill  View) ,  Rio  Vista  (River 
View),  etc.,  grate  upon  the  ears  of  a  Spaniard, 
who  would  never  combine  two  nouns  in  this 
way.  The  correct  forms  for  these  names  would 
be  Vista  del  Monte  (View  of  the  Mountain), 
Vista  de  la  Loma  (View  of  the  Hill),  Vista  del 
Rio  (View  of  the  River),  etc.  Between  this  class 
of  modern  Spanish  names,  more  or  less  faulty 
in  construction,  given  by  "Spaniards  from  Kan- 
sas," as  has  been  humorously  said,  and  the  real 
old  names  of  the  Spanish  epoch  about  which  a 
genuine  halo  of  romance  still  clings,  there  is  an 
immense  gulf. 

In  the  numerous  quotations  used  in  this  book, 
the  language  of  the  original  has  generally  been 
retained,  with  no  attempt  to  change  the  form  of 
expression.  In  spite  of  the  most  conscientious 
efforts  to  avoid  them,  unreliability  of  sources 
may  cause  some  errors  to  find  their  way  into 
these  pages;  for  these  the  author  hopes  not  to  be 
held  responsible. 

9 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


II 
CALIFORNIA 

First  comes  the  name  of  California  herself, 
the  sin  par  (peerless  one),  as  Don  Quixote  says 
of  his  Dulcinea.  This  name,  strange  to  say,  was 
a  matter  of  confusion  and  conjecture  for  many 
years,  until,  in  1862,  Edward  Everett  Hale  acci- 
dentally hit  upon  the  explanation  since  accepted 
by  historians. 

Several  theories,  all  more  or  less  fanciful  and 
far-fetched,  were  based  upon  the  supposed  con- 
struction of  the  word  from  the  Latin  calida 
fornax  (hot  oven),  in  reference  either  to  the 
hot,  dry  climate  of  Lower  Californiat  or  to  the 
"sweat-houses"  in  use  among  the  Indians.  Such 
theories  not  only  presuppose  a  knowledge  of 
Latin  not  likely  to  exist  among  the  hardy  men 
who  first  landed  upon  our  western  shores  but 
also  indicate  a  labored  method  of  naming  places 
quite  contrary  to  their  custom  of  seizing  upon 
some  direct  and  obvious  circumstance  upon 
which  to  base  their  choice.  In  all  the  length  and 
breadth  of  California  few,  if  any,  instances  exist 
where  the  Spaniards  invented  a  name  produced 
from  the  Latin  or  Greek  in  this  far-fetched  way. 

13 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


They  saw  a  big  bird,  so  they  named  the  river 
where  they  saw  it  El  Rio  del  Pcijaro  (the  River 
of  the  Bird),  or  they  suffered  from  starvation  in 
a  certain  canyon,  so  they  called  it  La  Canada 
del  Hambre  (the  Canyon  of  Hunger),  or  they 
reached  a  place  on  a  certain  saint's  day,  and 
so  they  named  it  for  that  saint.  They  were 
practical  men  and  their  methods  were  simple. 

In  any  case,  since  Mr.  Hale  has  provided  us 
with  a  more  reasonable  explanation,  all  such 
theories  may  be  passed  over  as  unworthy  of 
consideration.  While  engaged  in  the  study  of 
Spanish  literature,  he  was  fortunate  enough  to 
run  across  a  copy  of  an  old  novel,  published  in 
Toledo  sometime  between  1510  and  1521,  in 
which  the  word  California  occurred  as  the  name 
of  a  fabulous  island,  rich  in  minerals  and  prec- 
ious stones;  and  said  to  be  the  home  of  a  tribe 
of  Amazons.  This  novel,  entitled  Las  Sergas  de 
Esplandidn  (The  Adventures  of  Esplandian), 
was  written  by  the  author,  Garcia  Ordonez  de 
Montalvo,  as  a  sequel  to  the  famous  novel  of 
chivalry,  Amadis  of  Gaul,  of  which  he  was  the 
translator.  The  two  works  were  printed  in  the 
same  volume.  Montalvo's  romance,  although  of 
small  literary  value,  had  a  considerable  vogue 
among  Spanish  readers  of  the  day,  and  that  its 
pages  were  probably  familiar  to  the  early  ex- 

14 


T  II  E  I  H      M  i:  A  N  ING      AND      ROMANCE 


plorers  in  America  is  proved  by  the  fact  that 
Bernal  Diaz,  one  of  the  companions  of  Cortes, 
often  mentions  the  Amadis,  to  which  the  story 
of  Esplandian  was  attached.  The  passage  con- 
taining the  name  that  has  since  become  famous 
in  all  the  high-ways  and  by-ways  of  the  world 
runs  as  follows:  "Know  that  on  the  right  hand 
of  the  Indies  there  is  an  island  called  California, 
vi-ry  near  to  the  terrestrial  paradise,  which  was 
peopled  by  black  women,  without  any  men 
among  them,  for  they  were  accustomed  to  live 
alter  the  manner  of  Amazons.  They  were  of 
strong  and  hardened  bodies,  of  ardent  courage 
and  of  great  force.  The  island  was  the  strongest 
in  the  .world,  from  its  steep  rocks  and  great 
cliffs.  Their  arms  were  all  of  gold  and  so  were 
the  caparisons  of  the  wild  beasts  they  rode." 

It  was  during  the  period  when  this  novel  was 
at  the  height  of  its  popularity  that  Cortes  wrote 
to  the  King  of  Spain  concerning  information  he 
had  of  "an  island  of  Amazons,  or  women  only, 
abounding  in  pearls  and  gold,  lying  ten  days 
journey  from  Colima."  After  having  sent  one 
expedition  to  explore  the  unknown  waters  in 
that  direction,  in  the  winter  of  1533,  an  expedi- 
tion that  ended  in  disaster,  he  went  himself  and 
planted  a  colony  at  a  point,  probably  La  Paz, 
on  the  coast  of  Lower  California.  In  his  diary 

15 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


of  this  expedition,  Bernal  Diaz  speaks  of  Cali- 
fornia as  a  "bay,"  and  it  is  probable  that  the 
name  was  first  applied  to  some  definite  point  on 
the  coast,  afterward  becoming  the  designation 
of  the  whole  region.  The  name  also  occurs  in 
Preciado's  diary  of  Ulloa's  voyage  down  the 
coast  in  1539,  making  it  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  it  was  adopted  in  the  period  between  1535 
and  1539,  whether  by  Cortes  or  some  other  per- 
son can  not  be  ascertained. 

Dr.  Chapman,  in  his  History  of  California, 
asserts  his  belief  that  the  name  was  applied  by 
Fortiin  Jimenez  on  the  occasion  of  his  discovery 
of  the  peninsula  in  1533-1534. 

Bancroft  expresses  the  opinion  that  the  fol- 
lowers of  Cortes  may  have  used  the  name  in 
derision,  to  express  their  disappointment  in 
finding  a  desert,  barren  land  in  lieu  of  the  rich 
country  of  their  expectation,  but  it  seems  far 
more  in  keeping  with  the  sanguine  nature  of  the 
Spaniards  that  their  imaginations  should  lead 
them  to  draw  a  parallel  between  the  rich  island 
of  the  novel,  with  its  treasures  of  gold  and 
silver,  and  the  new  land,  of  whose  wealth  in 
pearls  and  precious  metals  some  positive  proof, 
as  well  as  many  exaggerated  tales,  had  reached 
them. 

An  argument  that  seems  to  clinch  the  matter 
16 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


of  the  origin  of  the  name  is  the  extreme  improb- 
ability that  two  different  persons,  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  world,  should  have  invented  exactly 
the  same  word,  at  about  the  same  period,  espe- 
cially such  an  unusual  one  as  California. 

As  for  the  etymology  of  the  word  itself,  it  is  as 
yet  an  unsolved  problem.  The  suggestion  that 
it  is  compounded  of  the  Greek  root  kali  (beau- 
tiful), and  the  Latin  fornix  (vaulted  arch),  thus 
making  its  definition  "beautiful  sky,"  may  be  the 
true  explanation,  but  even  if  that  be  so,  Cortes 
or  his  followers  took  it  at  second  hand  from 
Montalvo  and  were  not  its  original  inventors. 

Professor  George  Davidson,  in  a  monograph 
on  the  Origin  and  the  Meaning  of  the  Name 
California,  states  that  incidental  mention  had 
been  made  as  early  as  1849  of  the  name  as  oc- 
curring in  Montalvo's  novel  by  George  Ticknor, 
in  his  History  of  Spanish  Literature,  but  Mr. 
Ticknor  refers  to  it  simply  as  literature,  without 
any  thought  of  connecting  it  with  the  name  of 
the  state.  This  connection  was  undoubtedly  first 
thought  of  by  Mr.  Hale  and  was  discussed  in  his 
paper  read  before  the  Historical  Society  of 
Massachusetts  in  1862;  therefore  the  honor  of 
the  discovery  of  the  origin  of  the  state's  name 
must  in  justice  be  awarded  to  him.  Professor 
Davidson,  in  an  elaborate  discussion  of  the  pos- 

17 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


sible  etymology  of  the  word,  expresses  the 
opinion  that  it  may  be  a  combination  of  two 
Greek  words,  kallos  (beauty)  and  ornis  (bird), 
in  reference  to  the  following  passage  in  the 
book:  "In  this  island  are  many  griffins,  which 
can  be  found  in  no  other  part  of  the  world." 
Its  etymology,  however,  is  a  matter  for  further 
investigation.  The  one  fact  that  seems  certain 
is  its  origin  in  the  name  of  the  fabulous  island 
of  the  novel. 

A  curious  discovery  has  recently  been  made 
of  the  occurrence  of  the  name  Califerne,  refer- 
ring to  an  unknown  heathen  country,  in  The 
Chanson  de  Roland,  the  famous  epic  poem  com- 
memorating the  exploits  of  the  legendary  hero 
Roland  in  the  wars  conducted  by  Charlemagne. 
This  poem  is  very  ancient,  the  first  mention  of 
it  occurring  in  1066,  and,  considering  Montalvo's 
predilection  for  works  of  chivalry,  it  is  possible 
that  he  read  this  song,  that  his  fancy  was 
attracted  by  the  name  Califerne,  and  that,  with 
a  change  in  the  spelling  to  make  it  more 
euphonious  and  more  Spanish  in  form,  he 
adopted  it  for  his  mythical  island  of  pearls  and 
gold.  There  is  no  positive  evidence,  however, 
that  the  two  words,  California  and  Califerne, 
are  identical,  and  the  resemblance  may  be 
purely  accidental. 

18 


I    II  K  1  H       M  K  A  N  I  N  (.       A  N  1)       HO  M  A  N  C  K 


It  is  hoped  that  researches  now  going  on  in 
Spain  under  the  auspices  of  the  Native  Sons  of 
tlu-  (iolden  West  may  at  some  future  time  clear 
up  this  whole  subject.  In  the  meantime  it  may 
well  suffice  for  the  fortunate  heritors  of  the 
splendid  principality  now  known  as  California 
that  this  charming  name  became  affixed  to  it 
permanently,  rather  than  the  less  "tuneful"  one 
of  New  Albion,  which  Sir  Francis  Drake  applied 
to  it,  and  under  which  cognomen  it  appears  on 
some  English  maps  of  the  date. 


19 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


EL  MAR  PACIFIC*) 
(The  Peaceful  Sea) 

Though  the  great  sea  which  washes  her  long 
shore  from  end  to  end  can  scarcely  be  called  a 
part  of  California,  yet  the  two  are  so  insepar- 
ably connected  that  as  well  may  one  speak  of 
David  without  Jonathan,  of  Damon  without 
Pythias,  as  of  California  without  her  age-old 
companion,  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

On  that  memorable  day,  September  26,  1513, 
when  Balboa  gazed  in  triumph  across  the  glit- 
tering expanse  of  heaving  waters  spread  out 
before  him,  he  called  it  the  South  Sea,  for,  from 
his  stand  on  the  isthmus,  it  lay  to  the  south  of 
him.  Moreover,  as  the  Spaniards  had  called  all 
that  part  of  the  ocean  lying  to  the  north  of  the 
isthmus  the  North  Sea,  it  was  natural  to  call  the 
part  lying  to  the  south  of  it  the  South  Sea.  And 
so  it  was  known  until  seven  years  later,  when 
the  Portuguese  navigator,  Fernao  de  Magalhaes 
(Magellan),  made  his  famous  passage  through 
the  strait  which  now  bears  his  name.  Magellan, 
a  Portuguese  of  noble  family,  who  had  quar- 
reled with  the  King  of  Portugal,  entered  the 
service  of  the  King  of  Spain,  and  the  voyage 

20 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


upon  which  he  set  out  with  several  ships  in  the 
year  1519  was  undertaken  with  the  express  and 
particular  purpose  of  finding  a  southern  passage 
to  the  "spice  islands,"  so  that  ships  might  make 
the  return  voyage  from  them  without  the  neces- 
sity of  unloading.  That  there  was  some  vague 
knowledge  of  the  existence  of  a  strait  connecting 
the  two  oceans  previous  to  this  time  is  believed 
by  historians,  but,  so  far  as  the  records  show,  it 
is  to  Magellan  that  the  credit  for  its  actual 
passage  is  due.  His  own  account  of  the  voyage 
is  unfortunately  missing,  but  in  his  company 
there  was  a  volunteer,  one  Antonio  Pigafetta,  a 
nobleman  of  Venice,  who  has  left  a  detailed 
record  of  the  entire  journey  around  the  world. 
After  a  long  and  tempestuous  voyage,  during 
which  many  troubles  and  vicissitudes  were  suf- 
fered, the  fleet  arrived  opposite  the  Atlantic 
mouth  of  the  strait,  and  Magellan  judged,  by 
the  strong  current  rushing  out  of  it,  and  the 
large  number  of  skeletons  of  dead  whales  seen 
on  the  shore,  that  it  led  to  the  other  sea.  So 
great  was  his  confidence  that  he  gave  orders 
for  a  festival  of  rejoicing  on  all  the  ships. 
Sailing  through  the  strait,  past  lofty  mountains 
laden  with  snow,  of  which  Pigafetta  says,  "I 
think  that  there  is  not  in  the  world  a  more  beau- 
tiful country  or  better  strait  than  this  one,"  on 

21 


PLACE       NAMES       OF       CALIFORNIA 


the  afternoon  of  November  28,  1520,  they  came 
out  into  the  other  sea,  where,  he  says :  "We  dis- 
embouched  from  the  strait  in  order  to  enter  the 
great  sea,  to  which  we  later  gave  the  name  of 
Pacific."  Further  on  he  says:  "During  three 
months  and  twenty  days  we  ran  in  an  open  sen 
for  fully  four  thousand  leagues.  It  was  well 
named  Pacific,  for  during  this  time  we  met  with 
no  storm."  They  suffered  greatly,  however, 
from  the  lack  of  fresh  food  and  water,  being 
reduced  to  living  on  old  biscuit  decayed  to  pow- 
der and  full  of  grubs,  and  drinking  water  that 
was  "yellow  and  stinking."  They  ate  ox  hides 
which  they  soaked  four  or  five  days  in  the  sea 
and  then  "put  them  on  the  embers  and  so  ate 
them."  They  also  ate  "the  sawdust  of  wood,  and 
rats,  and,  moreover,  not  enough  of  them  were 
to  be  got."  As  a  consequence  of  this  wretched 
diet  they  became  afflicted  with  scurvy,  and  suf- 
fered so  much  that  nineteen  of  them  died,  be- 
sides a  giant  Patagonian  whom  they  had  on 
board.  This  was  but  part  of  the  price  paid  by 
those  brave  adventurers  who  led  the  way  to  that 
magnificent  body  of  water  which  has  become  the 
highway  between  East  and  West,  and  which, 
besides  being  the  brightest  jewel  in  California's 
crown  of  beauty,  has  been  the  means  of  pouring 
untold  riches  into  her  lap — the  Pacific  Ocean,  so 

22 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


named  by  Magellan  and  his  hardy  companions. 
It  is  not  to  be  forgotten,  however,  that  Magellan 
and  his  crew  gained  their  experience  of  this 
great  ocean  in  that  part  of  it  where  storms  are 
infrequent.  Later  navigators  complained  of  the 
inappropriateness  of  the  name  when  they  found 
themselves  lashed  by  the  fury  of  the  terrific 
tempests  which  sometimes  rage  across  its  vast 
surface  in  more  northern  latitudes.  The  Italian 
traveler,  Gemelli  Careri,  who  made  the  voyage 
from  Manila  to  Acapulco  in  1697-1698,  said: 
"The  Spaniards  and  other  geographers  have 
given  this  the  name  of  the  Pacific  Sea  .  .  .  but 
it  does  not  suit  with  its  tempestuous  and  dread- 
ful motion,  for  which  it  ought  rather  to  be  called 
the  Restless." 


24 


IN  AND  ABOUT 

SAN 


T  II  K  I  H       M  I-  A  N  I  N  (I       A  X  D       HO  M  A  X  C  E 


III 

IN  AND  ABOUT  SAN  DIEGO 

Like  many  other  places  in  California,  San 
Diego  has  had  more  than  one  christening.  The 
first  was  at  the  hands  of  Juan  Rodriguez 
Cabrillo,  who  discovered  the  harbor  in  1542,  and 
named  it  San  Miguel  (St.  Michael).  Cabrillo  was 
a  Portuguese  in  the  Spanish  service,  who  was 
sent  to  explore  the  coast  in  1542  by  Viceroy 
Mendoza.  "He  sailed  from  Natividad  with  two 
vessels,  made  a  careful  survey,  applied  names 
that  for  the  most  part  have  not  been  retained, 
and  described  the  coast  somewhat  accurately  as 
far  as  Monterey.  He  discovered  'a  land-locked 
and  very  good  harbor,'  probably  San  Diego, 
which  he  named  San  Miguel.  'The  next  day  he 
sent  a  boat  farther  into  the  port,  which  was 
large.  A  very  great  gale  blew  from  the  west- 
southwest,  and  south-southwest,  but  the  port 
being  good,  they  felt  nothing.'  On  the  return 
from  the  north  the  party  stopped  at  La  Poscsion, 
where  Cabrillo  died  on  January  third,  from  the 
effects  of  a  fall  and  exposure.  No  traces  of  his 
last  resting-place,  almost  certainly  on  San 
Miguel  near  Cuyler's  harbor,  have  been  found; 

27 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


and  the  drifting  sands  have  perhaps  made  such 
a  discovery  doubtful.  To  this  bold  mariner,  the 
first  to  discover  her  coasts,  if  to  any  one,  Cali- 
fornia may  with  propriety  erect  a  monument." 
—  (Bancroft's  History  of  California.) 

Then,  in  1602,  came  Sebastian  Vizcaino,  who 
changed  the  name  from  San  Miguel  to  San 
Diego.  He  was  "sent  to  make  the  discovery  and 
demarcation  of  the  ports  and  bays  of  the  South- 
ern Sea  (Pacific  Ocean),"  and  to  occupy  for 
Spain  the  California  isles,  as  they  were  then 
thought  to  be.  From  the  diary  of  Vizcaino's 
voyage  we  get  the  following  account  of  his 
arrival  at  San  Diego :  "The  next  day,  Sunday, 
the  tenth  of  the  said  month  (November),  we 
arrived  at  a  port,  the  best  that  there  can  be  in 
all  the  Southern  Sea,  for,  besides  being  guarded 
from  all  winds,  and  having  a  good  bottom,  it  is 
in  latitude  33%.  It  has  very  good  water  and 
wood,  many  fish  of  all  sorts,  of  which  we  caught 
a  great  many  with  the  net  and  hooks.  There  is 
good  hunting  of  rabbits,  hares,  deer,  and  many 
large  quail,  ducks  and  other  birds.  On  the 
twelfth  of  the  said  month,  which  was  the  day  of 
the  glorious  San  Diego,  the  admiral,  the  priests, 
the  officers,  and  almost  all  the  people,  went  on 
shore.  A  hut  was  built,  thus  enabling  the  feast 
of  the  Senor  San  Diego  to  be  celebrated." 

28 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


A  party  sent  out  to  get  wood  "saw  upon  a  hill 
a  band  of  100  Indians,  with  bows  and  arrows, 
and  many  feathers  upon  their  heads,  and  with  a 
great  shouting  they  called  out  to  us."  By  a 
bestowal  of  presents,  friendly  relations  were 
established.  The  account  continues :  "They  had 
pots  in  which  they  cooked  their  food,  and  the 
Indian  women  were  dressed  in  the  skins  of  ani- 
mals. The  name  of  San  Diego  was  given  to  this 
port."  Thus,  it  was  the  bay  that  first  received 
the  name,  years  afterwards  given  to  the  mission, 
then  to  the  town.  During  the  stay  of  Vizcaino's 
party  the  Indians  came  often  to  their  camp  with 
marten  skins  and  other  articles.  On  November 
20th,  having  taken  on  food  and  water,  the  party 
set  sail,  the  Indians  shouting  a  vociferous  fare- 
well from  the  beach  (quedaban  en  la  playa, 
dando  boces). 

A  long  period  of  neglect  of  more  than  160 
years  then  ensued.  The  Indians  continued  to 
carry  on  their  wretched  hand-to-mouth  exist- 
ence, trapping  wild  beasts  for  their  food  and 
scanty  clothing,  fishing  in  the  bountiful  ocean, 
and  keeping  up  their  constant  inter-tribal  quar- 
rels unmolested  by  the  white  man.  Several  gen- 
erations grew  up  and  passed  away  without  a 
reminder  of  the  strange  people  who  had  once 
been  seen  upon  their  shores,  except  perhaps  an 

31 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


occasional  white  sail  of  some  Philippine  galleon 
seen  flitting  like  a  ghost  on  its  southward  trip 
along  the  coast. 

Then  the  Spaniards,  alarmed  by  reports  of  the 
encroachments  of  the  Russians  on  the  north, 
waked  up  from  their  long  sleep,  and  determined 
to  establish  a  chain  of  missions  along  the  Cali- 
fornia coast.  Father  Junipero  Serra  was 
appointed  president  of  these  missions,  and  the 
first  one  of  the  chain  was  founded  by  him  at  San 
Diego  in  1769.  The  name  was  originally  applied 
to  the  "Old  Town,"  some  distance  from  the 
present  city.  The  founding  party  encountered 
great  difficulties,  partly  through  their  fearful 
sufferings  from  scurvy,  and  partly  from  the  tur- 
bulent and  thievish  nature  of  the  Indians  in  that 
vicinity,  with  whom  ,they  had  several  lively 
fights,  and  who  stole  everything  they  could  lay 
their  hands  on,  even  to  the  sheets  from  the  beds 
of  the  sick.  During  one  of  these  attacks,  the 
mission  buildings  were  burned  and  one  of  the 
padres,  Fray  Luis  Jaime,  suffered  a  cruel  death, 
but  all  difficulties  were  finally  overcome  by  the 
strong  hand  of  Father  Serra,  and  the  mission 
was  placed  on  a  firm  basis.  Its  partially  ruined 
buildings  still  remain  at  a  place  about  six  miles 
from  the  present  city. 

To  return  to  the  matter  of  the  name,  the  titu- 
32 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


lar  saint  of  this  bay,  and  later  of  the  mission 
and  town,  was  the  canonized  Franciscan  monk, 
San  Diego  de  Alcala.  This  mild  and  gentle  saint 
was  a  humble  lay  brother  in  a  monastery  of 
Alcala  in  Andalusia.  He  lived  from  1400  to  1463, 
and  was  canonized  rather  for  his  pious  life  and 
the  miracles  wrought  through  him  before  and 
after  his  death  than  for  any  high  position  held 
by  him.  Through  his  intercession  the  Infante 
Don  Carlos  was  healed  of  a  severe  wound.  An 
interesting  story  of  a  miracle  said  to  have  been 
performed  by  this  saint  runs  as  follows:  "In 
Seville  a  boy,  fleeing  from  punishment  at  the 
hands  of  his  mother,  concealed  himself  inside  of 
an  oven  and  fell  asleep  there.  The  mother,  not 
dreaming  that  the  boy  was  in  the  oven,  filled  it 
with  wood  and  lighted  it.  Awakened  with  the 
heat  of  the  flames,  he  cried  for  help,  but  the  fire 
was  now  raging  and  it  was  too  late  to  save  him. 
The  afflicted  mother,  desperate  with  grief,  ran 
into  the  streets  shrieking  like  an  insane  person. 
Providence  granted  that  San  Diego  should  be 
passing  at  that  moment.  After  consoling  her 
and  sending  her  to  pray  at  the  altar  of  Our  Lady, 
he  went  with  a  great  crowd  and  opened  the 
oven.  Wonder  of  wonders!  Although  the  wood 
was  almost  all  consumed,  the  boy  came  out  safe 
and  sound." 

33 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


In  the  translation  of  the  name  itself — Diego- 
it  is  rather  curious  that  although  all  dictionaries 
give  it  as  James,  ecclesiastics  render  San  Diego 
as  Saint  Didacus. 


CORONADO  BEACH 

The  name  of  Coronado  Beach,  the  long  spit  of 
land  forming  the  outer  shore  of  the  harbor  of 
San  Diego,  is  said  to  have  been  suggested  by  the 
Coronado  Islands  near  it.  These  islands  were 
not,  however,  named  in  honor  of  the  famous 
explorer,  Francisco  Vasquez  de  Coronado,  as 
many  have  supposed,  but  for  Los  Quatro  Mar- 
tires  Coronados  (the  four  crowned  martyrs), 
whose  feast  occurs  on  November  8th.  The  name 
finally  took  the  shorter  form  of  Coronados,  and 
its  resemblance  to  that  of  the  great  conquistador 
led  to  some  confusion. 

In  all  the  history  of  Spain  in  western  America 
there  is  nothing  more  romantic  than  the  story  of 
the  famous  explorer,  Francisco  Vasquez  de  Cor- 
onado, who,  with  the  delightful  childlike  faith  of 
his  race,  marched  through  Texas  and  Kansas  in 
search  of  the  fabulous  city  of  Gran  Qaivira, 
"where  every  one  had  his  dishes  made  of 
wrought  plate,  and  the  jugs  and  bowls  were  of 

34 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


gold,"  and  then  marched  back  again!  Imagine 
our  hard-headed  Puritan  ancestors  setting  forth 
on  such  a  quest! 

SAN  LUIS  KEY 

San  Luis  Rey  dc  Francia  (St.  Louis  King  of 
France),  is  the  name  of  the  mission  situated  in 
a  charming  little  valley  about  forty  miles  north 
of  San  Diego  and  three  miles  from  the  sea.  It 
was  founded  June  13,  1798,  by  Padres  Lasuen, 
Santiago  and  Peyri,  and  its  ruins  may  still  be 
seen  upon  the  spot.  A  partial  restoration  has 
been  made  of  these  buildings  and  they  are  now 
used  by  the  Franciscans.  The*  exact  circum- 
stances of  its  naming  have  not  come  to  light,  but 
we  know  of  its  patron  saint  that  his  holiness  was 
such  that  even  Voltaire  said  of  him:  "It  is 
scarcely  given  to  man  to  push  virtue  further." 
Born  at  Poissy  in  1215,  the  son  of  Louis  VIII  and 
Blanche  of  Castile,  he  became  noted  for  his 
saintliness,  and  twice  led  an  army  of  Crusaders 
in  the  "holy  war." 

PALA 

Pa/a,  often  misspelled  palo,  through  an  acci- 
dental resemblance  to  the  Spanish  word  palo 

35 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


(stick  or  tree),  is  situated  some  fifteen  miles  or 
more  to  the  northeast  of  San  Luis  Rey,  and  is 
the  site  of  the  sub-mission  of  San  Antonio  de 
Pala,  founded  in  1816  by  Padre  Peyri  as  a 
branch  of  San  Luis  Rey.  This  mission  was 
unique  in  having  a  bell-tower  built  apart  from 
the  church,  and  many  romantic  stories  have 
been  told  about  the  "bells  of  Pala."  It  was 
located  in  the  center  of  a  populous  Indian  com- 
munity, and  it  happens,  rather  curiously,  that 
the  word  itself  has  a  significance  both  in  Span- 
ish and  Indian,  meaning  in  Spanish  "spade"  and 
in  Indian  "water."  The  Reverend  George  Doyle, 
pastor  at  the  mission  of  San  Antonio  de  Pala, 
writes  the  following  in  regard  to  this  name: 
"The  word  'Pala'  is  an  Indian  word,  meaning, 
in  the  Cupanian  Mission  Indian  language, 
'water,'  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  the  San 
Luis  Rey  River  passes  through  it.  The  proper 
title  of  the  mission  chapel  here  is  San  Antonio 
de  Padua,  but  as  there  is  another  San  Antonio 
de  Padua  mission  chapel  in  the  north,  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  two  some  one  in  the  misty 
past  changed  the  proper  title  of  the  Saint,  and 
so  we  have  'de  Pala'  instead  of  'de  Padua.'  Some 
writers  say  Pala  is  Spanish,  but  this  is  not  true, 
for  the  little  valley  in  no  way  resembles  a  spade, 
and  the  Palanian  Indians  were  here  long  before 

36 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


the    Franciscan    padres    brought    civilization, 
Christianity  and  the  Spanish  language." 

Pa/a,  in  this  case,  is  almost  certainly  Indian, 
and  originates  in  a  legend  of  the  Luiseiios.  Ac- 
cording to  this  legend,  one  of  the  natives  of  the 
Temecula  tribe  went  forth  on  his  travels,  stop- 
ping at  many  places  and  giving  names  to  them. 
One  of  these  places  was  a  canyon,  "where  he 
drank  water  and  called  it  pa/a,  water." — (The 
Religion  of  the  Luiseno  Indians,  by  Constance 
Goddard  Dubois,  in  the  Univ.  of  Cal.  Publ.  of 
Arch,  and  Ethn.) 


SAN  JUAN  CAPISTRANO 

San  Juan  Capistrano  (St.  John  Capistrano), 
was  at  one  time  sadly  mutilated  by  having  its 
first  part  clipped  off,  appearing  on  the  map  as 
Capistrano,  but  upon  representations  made  by 
Zoeth  S.  Eldredge  it  was  restored  to  its  full  form 
by  the  Post  Office  Department.  A  mission  was 
founded  at  this  place,  which  is  near  the  coast 
about  half  way  between  San  Diego  an<jl  Los 
Angeles,  by  Padres  Serra  and  Amurrio,  Novem- 
ber 1,  1776,  the  year  of  our  own  glorious  mem- 
ory. While  on  the  other  side  of  the  continent 
bloody  war  raged,  under  the  sunny  skies  of 

37 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


California  the  gentle  padres  were  raising  altars 
to  the  "Man  of  Peace." 

The  buildings  at  this  place  were  badly 
wrecked  by  an  earthquake  on  December  8,  1812, 
yet  the  ruins  still  remain  to  attest  to  the  fact  that 
this  was  at  one  time  regarded  as  the  finest  of 
all  the  mission  structures. 

Its  patron  saint,  St.  John  Capistrano,  was  a 
Franciscan  friar  who  lived  at  the  time  of  the 
crusades,  and  took  part  in  them.  A  colossal 
statue  of  him  adorns  the  exterior  of  the  Cathe- 
dral at  Vienna.  It  represents  him  as  having  a 
Turk  under  his  feet,  a  standard  in  one  hand, 
and  a  cross  in  the  other. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  LIST 

There  remain  some  names  in  the  San  Diego 
group  of  less  importance,  yet  possessing  many 
points  of  interest,  which  will  be  included  in  the 
following  list,  with  an  explanation  of  their 
meanings,  and  their  history  wherever  it  has 
been  possible  to  ascertain  it. 

Agua  Tibia  (warm  water,  warm  springs),  is  in 
San  Diego  County.  For  some  reason  difficult  to 
divine,  this  perfectly  simple  name  has  been  the 
cause  of  great  confusion  in  the  minds  of  a  num- 

38 


ARCHWAY  AT  CAPISTRANO 
"At  one  time  regarded  as  the  finest  of  all  the  mission  structures. 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


her  of  writers.  In  one  case  the  almost  incredibly 
absurd  translation  "shinbone  water"  has  been 
given.  It  may  be  thought  that  this  was  intended 
as  a  bit  of  humor,  but  it  is  greatly  to  be  feared 
that  the  writer  mixed  up  the  Spanish  word  tibia, 
which  simply  means  "tepid,  warm,"  with  the 
Latin  name  of  one  of  the  bones  of  the  lower  leg, 
the  tibia.  In  another  case  the  equally  absurd 
translation  "flute  water"  has  been  given.  Where 
such  a  meaning  could  have  been  obtained  is  be- 
yond comprehension  to  any  person  possessing 
even  a  slight  knowledge  of  the  Spanish  lan- 
guage. Agua  Tibia  is  no  more  nor  less  than 
"warm  water,"  applied  in  this  case  to  warm 
springs  existing  at  that  place.  This  extreme  case 
is  enlarged  upon  here  as  an  example  of  the 
gross  errors  that  have  been  freely  handed  out 
to  an  unsuspecting  public  in  the  matter  of  our 
place  names.  There  are  many  more  of  the  same 
sort,  and  the  authors  of  this  inexcusable  stuff 
have  been  accepted  and  even  quoted  as  authori- 
ties on  the  subject.  Those  of  us  who  love  our 
California,  in  other  words  all  of  us,  can  not  fail 
to  be  pained  by  such  a  degradation  of  her 
romantic  history. 

Ballena  (whale)  is  in  San  Diego  County  at  the 
west  end  of  Ballena  Valley,  and  as  it  is  a  good 
many  miles  inland  its  name  seems  incongruous, 

41 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


until  we  learn  from  one  of  its  residents  that  it 
was  so  called  in  reference  to  a  mountain  in  the 
valley  whose  outline  along  the  top  is  exactly 
the  shape  of  a  humpbacked  whale. 

"This  place  has  probably  no  connection  with 
Ballenas,  a  name  applied  to  a  bay  in  Lower 
California  on  account  of  its  being  a  favorite 
resort  of  the  Humpback  whale." — (Mr.  Charles 
B.  Turrill.) 

Berenda,  in  Merced  County,  is  a  misspelling  of 
Berrendo  or  Berrenda. 

Berrendo  (antelope).  A  writer  whose  knowl- 
edge of  Spanish  seems  to  be  wholly  a  matter  of 
the  dictionary,  confused  by  the  fact  that  the 
definition  given  for  berrendo  is  "having  two 
colors,"  has  offered  the  fantastic  translation  of 
El  Rio  de  los  Berrendos  as  "The  River  of  the  two 
Colors."  Although  the  idea  of  such  a  river,  like 
a  piece  of  changeable  silk,  may  be  picturesque, 
the  simple  truth  is  that  the  word  berrendo,  al- 
though not  so  defined  in  the  dictionaries,  is  used 
in  Spanish  America  to  signify  a  deer  of  the 
antelope  variety  and  frequently  occurs  in  that 
sense  in  the  diaries.  Miguel  Costanso,  an  engi- 
neer accompanying  the  Portola  expedition  of 
1769,  says:  "Hay  en  la  tierra  venados,  verrendos 
(also  spelled  berrendos),  muchos  liebres,  cone- 
jos,  gatos  monteses  y  ratas  (there  are  in  the  land 

42 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


deer,  antelope,  many  hares,  rabbits,  wild-cats 
and  rats)."  On  August  4th  this  party  reached  a 
place  forty  leagues  from  San  Diego  which  they 
called  Berrendo  because  they  caught  alive  a 
deer  which  had  been  shot  the  day  before  by  the 
soldiers  and  had  a  broken  leg.  Antelope  Creek, 
in  Tehama  County,  was  originally  named  El  Rio 
de  los  Berrendos  (The  River  of  the  Antelopes), 
undoubtedly  because  it  was  a  drinking  place 
frequented  by  those  graceful  creatures,  and  An- 
telope Valley,  in  the  central  part  of  the  state, 
must  have  received  its  name  in  the  same  way. 

El  Cajon  (the  box),  about  twelve  miles  north- 
east of  San  Diego,  perhaps  received  its  name 
from  a  custom  the  Spaniards  had  of  calling  a 
deep  canyon  with  high,  box-like  walls,  un  cajon 
(a  box). 

Caliente  Creek  (hot  creek)  is  in  the  northern 
part  of  San  Diego  County. 

Campo  (a  level  field),  also  sometimes  used  in 
the  sense  of  a  camp,  is  the  name  of  a  place  about 
forty  miles  east-southeast  of  San  Diego,  just 
above  the  Mexican  border.  Campo  was  an  In- 
dian settlement,  and  may  have  been  so  called  by 
the  Spaniards  simply  in  reference  to  the  camp 
of  Indians. 

Canada  del  Bautismo  (glen  of  the  baptism), 
so  called  from  the  circumstance  that  two  dying 

43 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


native  children  were  there  baptized  by  the 
padres,  as  told  in  the  diary  of  Miguel  Costanso, 
of  the  Portola  expedition  of  1769.  Death,  when 
it  came  to  the  children  of  the  natives,  was  often 
regarded  as  cause  for  rejoicing  by  the  mission- 
aries, not,  of  course,  through  any  lack  of  human- 
ity on  their  part,  but  because  the  Indian  parents 
more  readily  consented  to  baptism  at  such  a 
time,  and  the  padres  regarded  these  as  so  many 
souls  "snatched  from  the  burning." 

Carriso  (reed  grass)  is  the  name  of  a  village 
and  creek  in  San  Diego  County.  The  grass  called 
carriso  is  a  sort  of  cane,  and,  like  the  cane,  it 
contains  a  certain  amount  of  sugar  in  the  sap  of 
its  stems.  This  had  been  discovered  by  the  In- 
dians before  the  coming  of  the  whites,  and  from 
this  sap  they  manufactured  a  sort  of  sugar 
which  they  traded  to  the  Mexicans  for  other 
articles. 

Chula  Vista  (pretty  view)  is  the  name  of  a 
town  near  the  coast,  a  few  miles  southeast  of 
San  Diego.  Chula  is  a  word  of  Mexican  origin, 
meaning  pretty,  graceful,  attractive.  "This  name 
was  probably  first  used  by  the  promoters  during 
the  boom  of  1887."— (Mr.  Charles  B.  Turrill.) 

La  Costa  (the  coast),  a  place  on  the  shore 
north  of  San  Diego. 

Coyote  Valley,  situated  just  below  the  south- 
44 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


ern  border  of  the  San  Jacinto  Forest  Reserva- 
tion. Coyote,  the  name  of  the  wolf  of  Western 
America,  is  an  Aztec  word,  originally  coyotl. 

Cuyamaca  is  probably  derived  from  the  land 
grant  of  that  name,  which  in  turn  took  its  name 
from  the  Cuyamaca  Mountain,  which,  according 
to  the  scientists,  was  so  called  in  reference  to 
the  clouds  and  rain  gathering  around  its  sum- 
mit. Mr.  T.  T.  Waterman,  instructor  in  Anthro- 
pology at  the  University  of  California,  says  the 
word  is  derived  from  two  Indian  words,  kwe 
(rain)  and  amak  (yonder),  and  consequently 
means  "rain  yonder."  The  popular  translation 
of  it  as  "woman's  breast"  is  probably  not  based 
on  fact.  There  was  an  Indian  village  of  that 
name  some  miles  northwest  of  San  Diego. 

Descanso  (rest)  is  the  name  of  a  place  north- 
east of  San  Diego,  so  called  by  a  government 
surveying  party  for  the  reason  that  they  stopped 
here  each  day  for  rest. 

Dulzura  (sweetness)  is  the  name  of  a  place 
but  a  few  miles  north  of  the  Mexican  border 
line.  What  there  was  of  "sweetness"  in  the  his- 
tory of  this  desolate  mining  camp  can  not  be 
discovered. 

Encinitas  (little  oaks)  is  a  place  on  the  coast 
about  twenty  miles  northwest  of  San  Diego. 

Escondido  (hidden),  a  place  lying  about  fif- 
45 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


teen  miles  from  the  coast,  to  the  northeast  of 
San  Diego.  It  is  said  to  have  been  so  named  on 
account  of  its  location  in  the  valley.  A  place  at 
another  point  was  called  Escondido  by  the 
Spaniards  because  of  the  difficulty  they  experi- 
enced in  finding  the  water  for  which  they  were 
anxiously  searching,  and  it  may  be  that  in  this 
case  the  origin  of  the  name  was  the  same. 

La  Jolla,  a  word  of  doubtful  origin,  said  by 
some  persons  to  mean  a  "pool,"  by  others  to  be 
from  hoya,  a  hollow  surrounded  by  hills,  and 
by  still  others  to  be  a  possible  corruption  of 
joya,  a  "jewel."  The  suggestion  has  been  made 
that  La  Jolla  was  named  from  caves  situated 
there  which  contain  pools,  but  until  some  fur- 
ther information  turns  up  this  name  must  re- 
main among  the  unsolved  problems.  There  is 
always  the  possibility  also  that  La  Jolla  means 
none  of  these  things  but  is  a  corruption  of  some 
Indian  word  with  a  totally  different  meaning. 
More  than  one  place  in  the  state  masquerades 
under  an  apparently  Spanish  name  which  is  in 
reality  an  Indian  word  corrupted  into  some 
Spanish  word  to  which  it  bore  an  accidental 
resemblance  in  sound.  Cortina  (curtain)  is  an 
example  of  this  sort  of  corruption,  it  being  de- 
rived from  the  Indian  Ko-iina. 

Laguna  del  Corral  (lagoon  of  the  yard). 
46 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


Corral  is  a  word  much  in  use  to  signify  a  space 
of  ground  enclosed  by  a  fence,  often  for  the 
detention  of  animals.  In  one  of  the  diaries  an 
Indian  corral  is  thus  spoken  of:  "Near  the  place 
in  which  we  camped  there  was  a  populous  In- 
dian village;  the  inhabitants  lived  without  other 
protection  than  a  light  shelter  of  branches  in 
the  form  of  an  enclosure;  for  this  reason  the 
soldiers  gave  to  the  whole  place  the  name  of  the 
Rancheria  del  Corral  (the  village  of  the  yard)." 
There  are  other  corrals  and  corralitos  (little 
yards)  in  the  state. 

Linda  Vista  (charming  or  pretty  view)  is  the 
name  of  a  place  ten  or  twelve  miles  due  north 
of  San  Diego. 

Point  Loma  (hill  point).  Loma  means  "hill," 
hence  Point  Loma,  the  very  end  of  the  little 
peninsula  enclosing  San  Diego  bay,  is  a  high 
promontory. 

De  Luz  (a  surname),  that  of  a  pioneer  family. 
The  literal  meaning  of  the  word  luz  is  "light." 

Del  Mar  (of  or  on  the  sea),  the  name  of  a 
place  on  the  shore  about  eighteen  miles  north 
of  San  Diego. 

La  Mesa  (literally  "the  table"),  used  very 
commonly  to  mean  a  "high,  flat  table-land."  La 
Mesa,  incorrectly  printed  on  some  of  the  maps 

47 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


as  one  word,  Lamesa,  lies  a  few  miles  to  the 
northeast  of  San  Diego. 

Mesa  Grande  (literally  "big  table"),  big  table- 
land, is  some  distance  to  the  northeast  of  San 
Diego. 

El  Nido  (the  nest) ,  is  southeast  of  San  Diego, 
near  the  border. 

Potrero  (pasture  ground)  is  just  above  the 
border  line.  There  are  many  Potreros  scattered 
over  the  state. 

La  Presa  (the  dam  or  dike) .  La  Presa  is  a  few 
miles  east  of  San  Diego,  on  the  Sweetwater 
River,  no  doubt  called  Agaa  Dulce  by  the  Span- 
iards. 

Los  Resales  (the  rose-bushes),  a  spot  located 
in  the  narratives  of  the  Spaniards  at  about 
seventeen  leagues  from  San  Diego,  and  two 
leagues  from  Santa  Margarita.  Nothing  in  the 
new  land  brought  to  the  explorers  sweeter  mem- 
ories of  their  distant  home  than  "the  roses  of 
Castile"  which  grew  so  luxuriantly  along  their 
pathway  as  to  bring  forth  frequent  expressions 
of  delight  from  the  padres.  This  particular  place 
we  find  mentioned  in  the  diary  of  Miguel  Cos- 
tanso,  as  follows:  "We  gave  it  the  name  of 
Canada  de  los  Resales  (glen  of  the  rose-bushes) , 
on  account  of  the  great  number  of  rose-bushes 
we  saw." 

48 


THEIR      MEANING- AND      ROMANCE 


Temecula,  the  name  of  a  once  important  In- 
dian village  in  the  Temecula  Valley,  about 
thirty-five  miles  south  of  Riverside.  Its  inhabi- 
tants suffered  the  usual  fate  of  the  native  when 
the  white  man  discovers  the  value  of  the  land, 
and  were  compelled  to  leave  their  valley  in 
1875,  and  remove  to  Pichanga  Canyon,  in  a 
desert  region. 

Tijuana,  a  place  on  the  border  between  Cali- 
fornia and  Mexico,  whose  chief  claim  to  fame, 
or  notoriety,  is  the  opportunity  that  it  offers  for 
gambling  and  other  sorts  of  dissipation  to  per- 
sons who  find  things  too  tame  on  the  northern 
side  of  the  line.  The  name,  variously  spelled 
Tiwana,  Tijuana,  and  Tiguana,  is  Indian  in 
origin,  its  meaning  unknown.  It  has  been  said 
to  mean  "by  the  sea,"  but  this  theory  has  not 
been  verified.  For  years  the  name  was  cor- 
rupted into  Tia  Juana,  Spanish  for  "Aunt  Jane," 
but  it  has  finally  been  restored  to  its  original 
Indian  form. 


49 


LOS  ANGELES  AND, 
ER  NEIGHBORS        *\ 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


IV 
LOS  ANGELES  AND  HER  NEIGHBORS 

Los  Angeles  (the  angels).  In  the  diary  of 
Miguel  Costanso,  date  of  August  2,  1769,  we 
read:  "To  the  north-northeast  one  could  see 
another  watercourse  or  river  bed,  which  formed 
a  wide  ravine,  but  it  was  dry.  This  watercourse 
joined  that  of  the  river,  and  gave  clear  indica- 
tions of  heavy  floods  during  the  rainy  season,  as 
it  had  many  branches  of  trees  and  debris  on  its 
sides.  We  halted  at  this  place,  which  was  named 
La  Porciuncula.  Here  we  felt  three  successive 
earthquakes  during  the  afternoon  and  night." 

This  was  the  stream  upon  which  the  city  of 
Los  Angeles  was  subsequently  built  and  whose 
name  became  a  part  of  her  title.  Porciuncula 
was  the  name  of  a  deserted  chapel  near  Assisi 
which  became  the  abode  of  St.  Francis  de  Assisi 
after  the  Benedictine  monks  had  presented  him, 
about  1211,  with  the  little  chapel  which  he 
called,  in  a  pleasant  way,  La  Porciuncula  (the 
small  portion).  By  order  of  Pius  V,  in  1556  the 
erection  of  a  new  edifice  over  the  Porciuncula 
chapel  was  begun.  Under  the  bay  of  the  choir 
is  still  preserved  the  cell  in  which  St.  Francis 
died,  while  a  little  behind  the  sacristy  is  the  spot 

53 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


where  the  saint,  during  a  temptation,  is  said  to 
have  rolled  in  a  brier-bush,  which  was  then 
changed  into  thornless  roses. —  (Catholic  Ency- 
clopedia.) In  this  story  there  is  a  curious  inter- 
weaving of  the  history  of  the  names  of  our  two 
rival  cities,  San  Francisco  in  the  north  and  Los 
Angeles  de  Porciiincula  in  the  south. 

Continuing  their  journey  on  the  following 
day,  the  Portola  party  reached  the  Indian 
rancheria  (village)  of  Yangna,  the  site  chosen 
for  the  pueblo  established  at  a  later  date.  Father 
Crespi  writes  of  it  thus :  "We  followed  the  road 
to  the  west,  and  the  good  pasture  land  followed 
us;  at  about  half  a  league  of  travel  we  encoun- 
tered the  village  of  this  part;  on  seeing  us  they 
came  out  on  the  road,  and  when  we  drew  near 
they  began  to  howl,  as  though  they  were  wolves; 
we  saluted  them,  they  wished  to  give  us  some 
seeds,  and  as  we  had  nothing  at  hand  in  which 
to  carry  them,  we  did  not  accept  them;  seeing 
this,  they  threw  some  handfuls  on  the  ground 
and  the  rest  in  the  air." 

August  2d  being  the  feast  day  of  Nuestra 
Senora  de  los  Angeles,  as  the  Virgin  Mary  is 
often  called  by  the  Spaniards,  this  name  was 
given  to  the  place. 

The  actual  founding  of  the  pueblo  did  not 
occur  until  September  4,  1781,  when  Governor 

54 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


Neve  issued  the  order  for  its  establishment  upon 
the  site  of  the  Indian  village  Yangna.  It  is  said 
that  the  Porciuncula  River,  henceforth  to  be 
known  as  the  Los  Angeles,  at  that  time  ran  to 
the  east  of  its  present  course.  The  name  of  the 
little  stream  was  added  to  that  of  the  pueblo,  so 
that  the  true,  complete  title  of  the  splendid  city 
which  has  grown  up  on  the  spot  where  the  In- 
dian once  raised  his  wolf-like  howl  is  Nuestra 
Senora  la  Reina  de  los  Angeles  de  Porciuncula 
(Our  Lady  the  Queen  of  the  Angels  of  Porciun- 
cula). 

The  social  beginnings  of  Los  Angeles  were 
humble  indeed,  the  first  settlers  being  persons  of 
mixed  race,  and  the  first  houses  mere  hovels, 
made  of  adobe,  with  flat  roofs  covered  with 
asphalt  from  the  springs  west  of  the  town. 


EL  RANCHO  LA  BREA 

La  Brea  (the  asphalt)  has  been  retained  as 
the  appropriate  designation  of  the  ranch  con- 
taining the  famous  asphaltum  beds  near  Los 
Angeles.  Ever  since  the  days  of  the  Tertiary 
Age,  the  quaking,  sticky  surface  of  these  beds 
has  acted  as  a  "death  trap"  for  unwary  animals, 
and  the  remains  of  the  unfortunate  creatures 

55 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


have  been  securely  preserved  down  to  our  times, 
furnishing  indisputable  evidence  of  the  strange 
life  that  once  existed  on  our  shores.  Fossils  of  a 
large  number  of  pre-historic  and  later  animals 
have  been  taken  out,  aggregating  nearly  a  mil- 
lion specimens  of  bird  and  animal  life,  many  of 
them  hitherto  unknown  to  science.  Among  them 
are  the  saber-tooth  tiger,  gigantic  wolves,  bears, 
horses,  bison,  deer,  an  extinct  species  of  coyote, 
camels,  elephants,  and  giant  sloths.  Remains  are 
also  found  of  mice,  rabbits,  squirrels,  several 
species  of  insects,  and  a  large  number  of  birds, 
such  as  ducks,  geese,  pelicans,  eagles  and  con- 
dors. 

Among  the  most  remarkable  of  these  fossils 
are  the  saber-tooth  tiger  and  the  great  wolf. 
Specimens  of  the  wolf  have  been  found  which 
are  among  the  largest  known  in  either  living  or 
extinct  species.  This  wolf  differs  from  existing 
species  in  having  a  larger  and  heavier  skull  and 
jaws,  and  in  its  massive  teeth,  a  conformation 
that  must  have  given  it  great  crushing  power. 
The  structure  of  the  skeleton  shows  it  to  have 
been  probably  less  swift,  but  more  powerful 
than  the  modern  wolf,  and  the  great  number  of 
bones  found  indicate  that  it  was  exceedingly 
common  in  that  age.  One  bed  of  bones  was  un- 
covered in  which  the  number  of  saber-tooth  and 

56 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


wolf  skulls  together  averaged  twenty  per  cubic 
yard.  Altogether,  the  disappearance  of  these 
great,  ferocious  beasts  from  the  California  for- 
ests need  cause  no  keen  regret. 

Next  to  the  large  wolf  the  most  common  is  the 
saber-tooth  tiger,  of  which  one  complete  skele- 
ton and  a  large  number  of  bones  have  been 
found.  The  skeleton  shows  the  animal  to  have 
been  of  about  the  size  of  a  large  African  lion, 
and  its  most  remarkable  characteristic  was  the 
extraordinary  length  of  the  upper  canine  teeth, 
which  were  like  long,  thin  sabers,  with  finely 
serrated  edges.  These  teeth  were  awkwardly 
placed  for  ordinary  use,  and  it  is  thought  by 
scientists  that  they  were  used  for  a  downward 
stab  through  the  thick  necks  of  bulky  creatures, 
such  as  the  giant  sloth.  There  is  also  an  unusual 
development  of  the  claws,  possibly  to  make  up 
for  the  loss  of  grasping  power  in  the  jaws,  re- 
sulting from  the  interference  of  the  long  saber 
teeth.  It  appears  from  the  state  of  many  of  the 
fossils  that  these  teeth  were  peculiarly  liable  to 
fracture,  and  accidents  of  this  sort  may  have 
led  to  the  extinction  of  the  species,  the  animal 
thus  perishing  through  the  over-development  of 
one  of  its  characteristics. 

Fossils  of  the  extinct  horse  and  bison  are  com- 
mon, and  a  smaller  number  are  found  of  camels, 

57 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


deer,  goats,  and  the  mammoth.  The  bison  were 
heavy-horned  and  somewhat  larger  than  the 
existing  species  of  buffalo.  The  camel,  of  which 
an  almost  complete  specimen  has  very  recently 
been  taken  out  by  Professor  R.  C.  Stoner,  of  the 
University  of  California,  was  much  larger  than 
the  present  day  species.  Since  the  above  was 
put  in  type,  a  human  skeleton  has  been  taken 
from  the  vicinity  of  the  La  Brea  bed.  Whether 
this  skeleton  belongs  with  the  La  Brea  deposits, 
and  what  its  comparative  age  in  relation  to 
other  human  remains  may  be,  are  matters  now 
being  investigated  by  scientists. 

The  preponderance  of  meat-eating  animals  in 
the  La  Brea  beds  has  attracted  the  attention  of 
scientists,  who  believe  that  these  creatures  were 
lured  to  the  spot  in  large  numbers  by  the  strug- 
gles and  cries  of  their  unfortunate  prey  caught 
in  the  sticky  mass  of  the  tar.  In  this  way,  a 
single  sloth,  or  other  creature,  may  have  been 
the  means  of  bringing  retribution  upon  a  whole 
pack  of  wolves. —  (Notes  taken  from  an  article 
in  the  Sunset  Magazine  of  October,  1908,  entitled 
The  Death  Trap  of  the  Ages,  by  John  C.  Mer- 
riam,  Professor  of  Paleontology  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  California.) 

The  manner  in  which  this  great  aggregation 
of  animals  came  to  a  tragic  end  in  that  long- 

58 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


past  age  is  exemplified  in  the  way  that  birds  and 
other  small  animals  are  still  occasionally  caught 
in  the  treacherous  asphalt  and  there  perish 
miserably,  adding  their  bones  to  those  of  their 
unhappy  predecessors. 

The  La  Brea  beds  furnish  one  of  the  richest 
fields  for  paleontological  research  to  be  found 
anywhere  in  the  world  and  it  may  be  said;  that 
with  her  great  Sequoias  in  the  north,  and  her 
reservoir  of  pre-historic  remains  in  the  south, 
California  stands  as  a  link  between  a  past  age 
and  the  present. 

The  tarry  deposit  itself  has  its  own  place  in 
history,  for  it  appears  that  the  first  settlers  of 
Los  Angeles  were  alive  to  the  practical  value  of 
this  supply  of  asphaltum  lying  ready  to  their 
hands,  and  used  it  in  roofing  their  houses.  Even 
the  Indians,  little  as  is  the  credit  usually  given 
them  for  skill  in  the  arts  and  crafts,  recognized 
the  possibilities  of  this  peculiar  substance,  and 
used  it  in  calking  their  canoes. 

LOS  OJITOS 

The  story  of  Los  Ojitos  (literally  "little  eyes"), 
but  here  used  in  the  sense  of  "little  springs," 
situated  about  two  leagues  from  Santa  Ana, 

59 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


indicates  that  the  pleasures  of  social  intercourse 
were  not  altogether  lacking  among  the  Califor- 
nia Indians.  In  the  diary  of  Miguel  Costanso,  of 
the  date  of  their  arrival  at  this  place,  he  writes : 
"We  found  no  water  for  the  animals,  but  there 
was  sufficient  for  the  people  in  some  little 
springs  or  small  pools,  in  a  narrow  canyon  close 
to  a  native  village.  The  Indians  of  this  village 
were  holding  a  feast  and  dance,  to  which  they 
had  invited  their  relatives  of  the  Rio  de  los 
Temblores  (River  of  the  Earthquakes,  or  Santa 
Ana)."  During  this  time  the  travelers  experi- 
enced a  series  of  earthquakes  lasting  several 
days. 

Ojo  de  agua  was  commonly  used  by  the  Span- 
iards to  mean  a  spring,  but  during  the  eight- 
eenth century  it  was  frequently  used  in  America 
in  the  sense  of  a  small  stream  of  water  rather 
than  a  spring. 

SANTA  ANA 

On  the  day,  Friday,  July  28,  1769,  of  the 
arrival  of  the  Portola  expedition  at  the  stream 
now  called  the  Santa  Ana,  which  takes  its  rise  in 
the  San  Bernardino  Mountains,  and  empties  into 
the  ocean  at  a  point  southeast  of  Los  Angeles, 

60 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


four  severe  earthquakes  occurred.  Speaking  of 
this  circumstance  in  his  diary,  Father  Crespi 
says :  "To  this  spot  was  given  El  Dulce  N ombre 
de  Jesus  de  los  Temblores  (The  Sweet  Name  of 
Jesus  of  the  Earthquakes),  because  of  having 
experienced  here  a  frightful  earthquake,  which 
was  repeated  four  times  during  the  day.  The 
first,  which  was  the  most  violent,  happened  at 
one  o'clock  of  the  afternoon,  and  the  last  about 
four  o'clock.  One  of  the  gentiles  (unbaptized 
Indians),  who  happened  to  be  in  the  camp,  and 
who,  without  doubt,  exercised  among  them  the 
office  of  priest,  no  less  terrified  at  the  event  than 
we,  began,  with  horrible  cries  and  great  demon- 
strations, to  entreat  Heaven,  turning  to  all  points 
of  the  compass.  This  river  is  known  to  the  sol- 
diers as  the  Santa  Ana."  This  was  one  of  the 
rare  cases  where  the  usual  method  of  naming 
was  reversed  ,and  the  soldiers  chose  the  name 
of  the  saint.  St.  Anna  was  the  mother  of  the 
Virgin  and  her  name  signifies  "gracious." 

In  the  diary  of  Father  Font,  companion  of 
Captain  Ansa  in  his  second  expedition,  this  ref- 
erence occurs :  "The  river  of  Santa  Ana  was  so 
called  because  the  expedition  under  Com- 
mander Portola  reached  it  on  the  day  of  Santa 
Ana,  and  he  gave  it  this  name." 

In  the  account  of  Captain  Pedro  Fages,  of  the 
61 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


same  expedition,  the  natives  on  this  stream  are 
described  as  having  light  complexions  and  hair, 
and  a  good  appearance,  differing  in  these  par- 
ticulars from  the  other  inhabitants  of  that  re- 
gion, who  were  said  to  be  dark,  dirty,  under- 
sized and  slovenly.  This  is  not  the  only  occasion 
when  the  Spaniards  reported  finding  Indians  of 
light  complexions  and  hair  in  California.  One 
account  speaks  of  a  red-haired  tribe  not  far 
north  of  San  Francisco,  and  still  another  of 
"white  Indians"  at  Monterey,  but,  judging  by 
the  light  of  our  subsequent  knowledge  of  these 
aborigines,  the  writers  of  these  reports  must 
have  indulged  in  exaggeration. 

On  the  southern  bank  of  the  Santa  Ana,  not 
far  from  the  coast,  is  the  town  of  the  same  name, 
and  further  inland  its  waters  have  made  to 
bloom  in  the  desert  the  famous  orange  orchards 
of  Riverside. 

SANTA  MONICA 

Santa  Monica,  situated  at  the  innermost  point 
of  the  great  curve  in  the  coast  line  just  west  of 
Los  Angeles,  was  named  in  honor  of  a  saintly 
lady  whose  story  is  here  quoted  from  Clara 
Erskine  Clement's  Stories  of  the  Saints:  "She 
was  the  mother  of  St.  Augustine,  and  was  a 

62 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


Christian,  while  his  father  was  a  heathen. 
Monica  was  sorely  troubled  at  the  dissipated  life 
of  her  young  son;  she  wept  and  prayed  for  him, 
and  at  last  sought  the  advice  and  aid  of  the 
Bishop  of  Carthage,  who  dismissed  her  with 
these  words,  'Go  in  peace;  the  son  of  so  many 
tears  will  not  perish.'  At  length  she  had  the  joy 
of  beholding  the  baptism  of  St.  Augustine  by  the 
Bishop  of  Milan." 

Santa  Monica  is  venerated  as  the  great  pa- 
troness of  the  Augustinian  nuns,  and  might  well 
be  placed  at  the  head  of  the  world-wide  order 
of  "Anxious  Mothers." 


SANTA  CATALINA 

Santa  Catalina,  the  beautiful  island  off  the 
coast  of  Southern  California,  was  named  by 
Vizcaino  in  honor  of  St.  Catherine,  because  its 
discovery  occurred  on  the  eve  of  her  feast  day, 
November  24,  1602.  In  the  diary  of  the  voyage 
we  get  an  interesting  description  of  the  island 
and  its  aboriginal  inhabitants:  "We  continued 
our  journey  along  the  coast  until  November  24, 
when,  on  the  eve  of  the  glorious  Santa  Catalina, 
we  discovered  three  large  islands;  we  took  the 
one  in  the  middle,  which  is  more  than  twenty- 

63 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


five  leagues  in  circumference,  on  November  27, 
and  before  dropping  anchor  in  a  good  cove 
which  was  found,  a  great  number  of  Indians 
came  out  in  canoes  of  cedar-wood  and  pine, 
made  of  planking  well  joined  and  calked,  and 
with  eight  oars  each,  and  fourteen  or  fifteen 
Indians,  who  looked  like  galley-slaves.  They 
drew  near  and  came  on  board  our  vessels  with- 
out any  fear  whatever.  We  dropped  anchor  and 
went  on  shore.  There  were  on  the  beach  a  great 
number  of  Indians,  and  the  women  received  us 
with  roasted  sardines  and  a  fruit  cooked»in  the 
manner  of  sweet  potatoes." 

Mass  was  celebrated  there  in  the  presence  of 
150  Indians.  The  people  were  very  friendly  and 
the  women  led  the  white  men  by  the  hand  into 
their  houses.  The  diary  continues:  "These 
people  go  dressed  in  the  skins  of  seals;  the 
women  are  modest  but  thievish.  The  Indians 
received  us  with  embraces  and  brought  water 
in  some  very  well-made  jars,  and  in  others  like 
flasks,  that  were  highly  varnished  on  the  out- 
side. They  have  acorns  and  some  very  large 
skins,  with  long  wool,  apparently  of  bears, 
which  serve  them  for  blankets." 

The  travelers  found  here  an  idol,  "in  the  man- 
ner of  the  devil,  without  a  head,  but  with  two 
horns,  a  dog  at  the  feet,  and  many  children 

64 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


painted  around  it."    The  Indians  readily  gave 
up  this  idol  and  accepted  the  cross  in  its  stead. 

St.  Catherine,  patroness  of  this  island,  was 
one  of  the  most  notable  female  martyrs  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  church.  We  are  told  that  she 
was  of  royal  blood,  being  the  daughter  of  a 
half-brother  of  Constantine  the  Great.  She  was 
converted  to  Christianity,  and  became  noted  for 
her  unusual  sanctity.  She  was  both  beautiful 
and  intellectual,  and  possessed  the  gift  of  elo- 
quence in  such  a  high  degree  that  she  was  able 
to  confound  fifty  of  the  most  learned  men  ap- 
pointed by  Maximin  to  dispute  matters  of  re- 
ligion with  her.  The  same  Maximin,  enraged 
by  her  refusal  of  his  offers  of  love,  ordered  that 
she  be  tortured  "by  wheels  flying  in  different 
directions,  to  tear  her  to  pieces.  When  they  had 
bound  her  to  these,  an  angel  came  and  con- 
sumed the  wheels  in  fire,  and  the  fragments  flew 
around  and  killed  the  executioners  and  3000 
people.  Maximin  finally  caused  her  to  be  be- 
headed, when  angels  came  and  bore  her  body 
to  the  top  of  Mt.  Sinai.  In  the  eighth  century  a 
monastery  was  built  over  her  burial  place."- 
( Stories  of  the  Saints.)  Santa  Catalina  is  the 
patroness  of  education,  science,  philosophy,  elo- 
quence, and  of  all  colleges,  and  her  island  has 
good  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  the  name  chosen 
by  Vizcaino. 

65 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


LAS  ANIMAS  BENDITAS 

Of  Las  Animas  (the  souls),  which  lay  between 
San  Gabriel  and  the  country  of  the  Amajaba 
(Mojave)  Indians,  we  find  the  story  in  Fray 
Joaquin  Pasqual  Nuez's  diary  of  the  expedition 
made  in  1819  by  Lieutenant  Gabriel  Moraga,  to 
punish  the  marauding  Amajabas,  who  had  mur- 
dered a  number  of  Christian  natives.  This  name 
was  also  used  as  the  title  of  a  land  grant  just 
south  of  Gilroy. 

The  Moraga  party  arrived  at  a  point  "about  a 
league  and  a  half  from  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe 
of  Guapiabit.  We  found  the  place  where  the 
Amajabas  killed  four  Christians  of  this  mission 
(San  Gabriel),  three  from  San  Fernando,  and 
some  gentiles  (unbaptized  Indians).  We  found 
the  skeletons  and  skulls  roasted,  and,  at  about  a 
gun-shot  from  there  we  pitched  camp.  The  next 
day,  after  mass,  we  caused  the  bones  to  be  car- 
ried in  procession,  the  cross  in  front,  Padre  Nuez 
chanting  funeral  services,  to  the  spot  where  they 
had  been  burned.  There  we  erected  a  cross,  at 
the  foot  of  which  we  caused  the  bones  to  be 
buried  in  a  deep  hole,  and  then  we  blessed  the 
sepulchre.  We  named  the  spot  Las  Animas 
Benditas  (The  Blessed  Souls)."  May  they  rest 
in  peace! 

66 


SAN  GABRIEL 

San  Gabriel,  the  quaint  little  town  lying  nine 
miles  east  of  Los  Angeles,  is  the  site  of  the  Mis- 
sion San  Gabriel  Arcdngel  (St.  Gabriel  Arch- 
angel), founded  September  8,  1771,  by  Padres 
Cambon  and  Somcra.  This  mission  was  placed 
in  a  fertile,  well-wooded  spot,  in  the  midst  of  a 
large  Indian  population,  who,  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  padres,  became  experts  in  many  arts, 
such  as  sewing,  weaving,  soap-making,  cobbling, 
etc.  Their  flocks  and  herds  increased  to  such 
an  extent  that  they  covered  the  country  for 
many  miles  around. 

The  patron  saint,  San  Gabriel,  was  the  second 
in  rank  of  the  archangels  who  stand  before  the 
Lord.  Whenever  he  is  mentioned  in  the  Bible, 
it  is  as  a  messenger  bearing  important  tidings, 
and  he  is  especially  venerated  as  having  carried 
to  the  Virgin  the  message  that  she  was  to  be- 
come the  mother  of  Christ. 

San  Gabriel  (man  of  God)  has  a  place  in  sev- 
eral religions.  To  the  Israelites  he  was  the  angel 
of  death;  according  to  the  Talmud  he  was  the 
prince  of  fire  and  ruled  the  thunder.  He  set  fire 
to  the  temple  of  Jerusalem;  appeared  to  Daniel 
and  Zacharias;  announced  to  Mary  the  birth  of 

69 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


Christ,  and  dictated  the  Koran  to  Mahomet.  The 
last-named  prophet  describes  him  very  fully, 
mentioning  among  other  things  500  pairs  of 
wings,  the  distance  from  one  wing  to  another 
being  500  days  journey.  His  day  in  the  church 
calendar  is  March  18th. —  (Hubert  Howe  Ban- 
croft.) 

Father  Font  says  in  his  diary  of  the  Ansa  ex- 
pedition: "San  Gabriel  de  los  Temblores  (Saint 
Gabriel  of  the  earthquakes)  was  so  called  be- 
cause the  earth  trembled  on  the  day  when  they 
reached  that  spot." 


,     SAN  FERNANDO 

It  was  in  the  valley  of  San  Fernando  (St.  Fer- 
dinand), a  short  distance  northwest  of  Los 
Angeles,  that  the  mission  pertaining  to  the  latter 
place  was  established,  September  8,  1797,  by 
Padres  Lasuen  and  Dumetz.  The  Camulos 
Rancho,  the  home  of  Ramona,  the  heroine  of 
Mrs.  Helen  Hunt  Jackson's  romance,  was  once 
included  in  the  lands  of  this  mission. 

St.  Ferdinand,  King  of  Spain,  in  whose  honor 
this  place  was  named,  was  a  notable  warrior,  as 
well  as  a  saint,  and  he  succeeded  in  expelling 
the  Moors  from  Toledo,  Cordova  and  Seville. 

70 


THEIR  MEANING  AND   ROMANCE 


He  is  said  also  to  have  been  a  patron  of  the  arts, 
and  to  have  been  the  founder  of  the  cathedral 
at  Burgos,  celebrated  for  the  beauty  of  its  archi- 
tecture. But  more  than  for  such  attainments,  he 
is  remembered  for  his  tenderness  toward  the 
poor  and  lowly  of  his  people.  When  urged  to 
put  a  tax  upon  them  in  order  to  recruit  his  army, 
he  replied:  "God,  in  whose  cause  I  fight,  will 
supply  my  need.  I  fear  more  the  curse  of  one 
poor  old  woman  than  a  whole  army  of  Moors." 
—(Stories  of  the  Saints.) 


TEMESCAL 

Temescal  (sweathouse),  in  Riverside  County, 
although  a  place  of  no  great  importance  in  itself, 
is  interesting  in  that  its  name  recalls  one  of  the 
curious  customs  widely  prevalent  among  the 
natives  of  the  Southwest.  The  word  itself  is  of 
Aztec  origin,  and  was  brought  to  California  by 
the  Franciscans. 

The  temescal  is  thus  described  by  Dr.  A.  L. 
Kroeber,  in  the  University  of  California  Publica- 
tions in  Archaeology  and  Ethnology:  "At  the 
Banning  Reservation  a  sweathouse  is  still  in  use. 
From  the  outside  its  appearance  is  that  of  a 
small  mound.  The  ground  has  been  excavated 

71 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


to  the  depth  of  a  foot  or  a  foot  and  a  half,  over 
a  space  of  about  twelve  by  seven  or  eight  feet. 
In  the  center  of  this  area  two  heavy  posts  are 
set  up  three  or  four  feet  apart.  These  are  con- 
nected at  the  top  by  a  log  laid  in  their  forks. 
Upon  this  log,  and  in  the  two  forks,  are  laid 
some  fifty  or  more  logs  and  sticks  of  various 
dimensions,  their  ends  sloping  down  to  the  edge 
of  the  excavation.  It  is  probable  that  brush 
covers  these  timbers.  The  whole  is  thoroughly 
covered  with  earth.  There  is  no  smoke  hole. 
The  entrance  is  on  one  of  the  long  sides,  directly 
facing  the  space  between  the  two  center  posts, 
and  only  a  few  feet  from  them.  The  fireplace  is 
between  the  entrance  and  the  posts.  It  is  just 
possible  to  stand  upright  in  the  center  of  the 
house.  In  Northern  California,  the  so  called 
sweathouse  is  of  larger  dimensions,  and  was  pre- 
eminently a  ceremonial  or  assembly  chamber." 
Dr.  L.  H.  Bunnell,  in  his  history  of  the  dis- 
covery of  the  Yosemite  Valley,  gives  us  some 
interesting  details  of  the  use  of  the  sweathouse 
among  the  Indians  of  that  region :  "The  remains 
of  these  structures  were  sometimes  mistaken  for 
tumuli,  being  constructed  of  bark,  reeds  or 
grass,  covered  with  mud.  It  (the  sweathouse) 
was  used  as  a  curative  for  disease,  and  as  a  con- 
venience for  cleansing  the  skin,  when  necessity 

72 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


demands  it,  although  the  Indian  race  is  not 
noted  for  cleanliness.  I  have  seen  a  half-dozen 
or  more  enter  one  of  these  rudely  constructed 
sweathouses  through  the  small  aperture  left  for 
the  purpose.  Hot  stones  are  taken  in,  the  aper- 
ture is  closed  until  suffocation  would  seem  im- 
pending, when  they  would  crawl  out,  reeking 
with  perspiration,  and  with  a  shout,  spring  like 
acrobats  into  the  cold  waters  of  the  stream.  As 
a  remedial  agent  for  disease,  the  same  course  is 
pursued,  though  varied  at  times  by  the  burning 
and  inhalation  of  resinous  boughs  and  herbs.  In 
the  process  of  cleansing  the  skin  from  impuri- 
ties, hot  air  alone  is  generally  used.  If  an  Indian 
had  passed  the  usual  period  of  mourning  for  a 
relative,  and  the  adhesive  pitch  too  tenaciously 
clung  to  his  no  longer  sorrowful  countenance, 
he  would  enter  and  re-enter  the  heated  house 
until  the  cleansing  had  become  complete.  The 
mourning  pitch  is  composed  of  the  charred 
bones  and  ashes  of  the  dead  relative  or  friend. 
These  remains  of  the  funeral  pyre,  with  the 
charcoal,  are  pulverized  and  mixed  with  the 
resin  of  the  pine;  this  hideous  mixture  is  usually 
retained  upon  the  face  of  the  mourner  until  it 
wears  off.  If  it  has  been  well-compounded,  it 
may  last  nearly  a  year;  although  the  young, 
either  from  a  super-abundance  of  vitality,  ex- 

73 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


cessive  reparative  powers  of  the  skin,  or  from 
powers  of  will,  seldom  mourn  so  long.  When 
the  bare  surface  exceeds  that  covered  by  the 
pitch,  it  is  not  a  scandalous  disrespect  in  the 
young  to  remove  it  entirely,  but  a  mother  will 
seldom  remove  pitch  or  garment  until  both  are 
nearly  worn  out." 

This  heroic  treatment,  while  possibly  efficaci- 
ous in  the  simple  ailments  by  which  the  Indians 
were  most  often  afflicted,  usually  resulted  in  a 
great  increase  of  mortality  in  the  epidemics  of 
smallpox  following  upon  the  footsteps  of  the 
white  man.  One  traveler  speaks  of  a  severe  sort 
of  intermittent  fever,  to  which  the  natives  were 
subject,  and  of  which  so  many  died  that  hun- 
dreds of  bodies  were  found  strewn  about  the 
country.  Having  observed  that  the  whites,  even 
when  attacked  by  this  fever,  rarely  died  of  it, 
he  was  inclined  to  ascribe  the  mortality  among 
the  natives  to  their  great  cure-all,  the  temescal. 

A  number  of  places  in  the  state  bore  this 
name,  among  them  a  small  town  lying  between 
the  sites  now  occupied  by  the  flourishing  cities 
of  Oakland  and  Berkeley.  Its  citizens  became 
discontented  with  the  undignified  character  of 
the  name,  and  changed  it  to  Alden. 


74 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


SAN  BERNARDINO 

San  Bernardino  is  the  name  of  a  county  in 
the  southeastern  part  of  California,  whose 
broad  expanse  is  mainly  made  up  of  volcanic 
mountains,  desert  plains,  and  valleys  without 
timber  or  water. 

The  name  was  first  given  to  the  snow-capped 
peak,  11,600  feet  high,  lying  about  twenty  miles 
east  of  the  city  of  San  Bernardino,  which  is  sit- 
uated sixty  miles  east  of  Los  Angeles,  in  the  fruit 
and  alfalfa  region.  The  name  of  this  town  is 
one  of  the  most  regrettable  examples  of  corrup- 
tion that  have  occurred  in  the  state,  having 
passed  from  its  original  sweetly  flowing  sylla- 
bles through  the  successive  stages  of  San  Ber- 
dino,  Berdino,  until  finally  reaching  the  acme  of 
vulgarity  as  Berdoo,  by  which  appellation  it  is 
known  to  its  immediate  neighbors.  If  ideas  of 
romance,  of  pleasant-sounding  words,  and  of 
fidelity  to  history  make  no  appeal  to  our  fellow- 
Californians,  let  them  read  again  the  quotation 
from  Stevenson  given  above,  and  learn  that  a 
romantic  nomenclature  may  sometimes  be  a 
valuable  financial  asset. 

San  Bernardino  (St.  Bernardinus) ,  the  patron 
saint  of  the  places  bearing  his  name,  is  particu- 

75 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


larly  remembered  as  the  founder  of  the  charit- 
able institution  known  in  Spanish  as  Monte  de 
Piedad  (hill  of  pity),  and  in  French  as  Mont  de 
Piete,  municipal  pawnshops  where  money  was 
loaned  on  pledges  to  the  poor.  These  pawnshops 
are  still  conducted  in  many  Spanish  towns,  in 
America  as  well  as  in  Europe. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  LIST 

Abalone  Point,  some  miles  to  the  southeast  of 
San  Pedro  bay,  was  no  doubt  so  named  from 
the  abundance  of  the  great  sea  snails  called 
abalone,  whose  iridescent  shells,  the  abandoned 
dwellings  of  the  dead  animals,  almost  compara- 
ble in  beauty  to  the  mother-of-pearl,  once  cov- 
ered the  beaches  of  the  California  coast  with  a 
glittering  carpet.  The  word  "once"  is  used  ad- 
visedly, for,  with  our  usual  easy-going  American 
negligence  we  have  permitted  these  creatures  of 
the  sea,  valuable  for  their  edible  meat  as  well  as 
for  their  exquisitely  colored  shells,  to  be  nearly 
destroyed  by  Chinese  and  Japanese  fisheries. 
That  the  flesh  of  the  abalone  formed  a  useful 
part  of  the  food  supply  of  the  Indians  is  evi- 
denced by  the  large  number  of  shells  to  be  found 
in  the  mounds  along  the  shore.  In  the  living 

76 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


state  the  aba  lone  clings  to  the  rocks  on  the  shore, 
and  its  grip  is  so  tenacious  that  more  than  one 
unfortunate  person,  caught  by  the  foot  or  hand 
between  the  shell  and  the  rock,  has  been  held 
there  while  death  crept  slowly  upon  him  in  the 
shape  of  the  rising  tide.  There  is  another  Aba- 
lone  Point  on  the  northern  coast. 

Agua  Caliente  (literally  "hot  water"),  gener- 
ally used  in  reference  to  hot  springs.  Of  these 
there  are  many  in  the  state,  one  on  the  Indian 
Reservation  southeast  of  Riverside.  Agua  Cali- 
ente was  originally  a  land  grant. 

Alamitos  (little  cottonwoods),  from  alamo,  a 
tree  of  the  poplar  family  indigenous  to  Cali- 
fornia. There  are  several  places  bearing  this 
name  in  the  state,  one  a  short  distance  northeast 
of  Santa  Ana. 

Aliso  (alder  tree)  is  the  name  of  a  place  on 
the  Santa  Fe  Railroad,  south  of  Los  Angeles, 
near  the  shore,  and  was  probably  named  for 
the  Rancho  Canada  de  los  Alisos.  It  is  probably 
modern. 

Azusa  is  the  name  of  a  place  in  Los  Angeles 
County,  twenty  miles  east  of  Los  Angeles,  and 
was  originally  applied  to  the  land  grant  there. 
It  is  an  Indian  place  name  of  a  lodge,  or  ranch- 
eria,  the  original  form  being  Asuksa-gna,  the 
gna  an  ending  which  indicates  place. 

77 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Bandini  (a  surname)  is  the  name  of  a  place  a 
short  distance  southeast  of  Los  Angeles,  on  the 
Santa  Fe  Railroad.  The  founder  of  this  family 
was  Jose  Bandini,  a  mariner  of  Spanish  birth, 
who  came  to  California  with  war  supplies,  and 
finally  settled  at  San  Diego.  His  son,  Juan  Ban- 
dini, was  a  notable  character  in  the  history  of 
the  state.  He  held  several  public  offices,  took 
part  in  revolutions  and  colonization  schemes, 
and  finally  espoused  the  cause  of  the  United 
States.  Bancroft  gives  the  following  resume  of 
his  character :  "Juan  Bandini  must  be  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  of  his  time  in 
California.  He  was  a  man  of  fair  abilities  and 
education,  of  generous  impulses,  of  jovial  tem- 
perament, a  most  interesting  man  socially, 
famous  for  his  gentlemanly  manners,  of  good 
courage  in  the  midst  of  personal  misfortunes, 
and  always  well-liked  and  respected;  indeed  his 
record  as  a  citizen  was  an  excellent  one.  In  his 
struggles  against  fate  and  the  stupidity  of  his 
compatriots  he  became  absurdly  diplomatic  and 
tricky  as  a  politician.  He  was  an  eloquent 
speaker  and  fluent  writer."  Members  of  the  Ban- 
dini family  still  occupy  positions  of  respect  and 
influence  in  the  state  and  have  made  some  im- 
portant additions  to  its  historical  literature. 

Bolsa  (pocket),  a  term  much  in  use  with  the 
78 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


Spaniards  to  signify  a  shut-in  place.  Bolsa  is  in 
Orange  County,  twelve  miles  north  by  west  of 
Tres  Pinos,  and  was  probably  named  from  the 
land  grant,  Rancho  de  las  Bolsas. 

Cabezon  (big  head)  is  the  name  of  a  place 
southeast  of  Colton.  It  was  probably  named  for 
a  large-headed  Indian  chief  who  lived  there  at 
one  time  and  who  received  this  name  in  pur- 
suance of  an  Indian  custom  of  fitting  names  to 
physical  peculiarities.  This  name  is  improperly 
spelled  on  some  maps  as  Cabazon. 

Cahuilla,  the  name  of  an  Indian  tribe,  prob- 
ably "Spanishized"  in  its  spelling  from  Ka-we-a. 
The  valley  and  village  of  this  name  are  situated 
in  the  San  Jacinto  Forest  Reserve,  southeast  of 
Riverside,  and  received  their  name  from  a  tribe 
who  lived,  in  1776,  on  the  northern  slopes  of  the 
San  Jacinto  Mountains.  The  word  Cahuilla  is  of 
uncertain  derivation. 

Calabazas  (squashes,  or  gourds)  is  northwest 
of  Los  Angeles.  The  name  refers  to  the  wild 
gourds  that  grow  in  that  locality. 

Casa  Blanca  (white  house)  is  a  short  distance 
west  of  Riverside,  on  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad,  so 
called  from  a  large  white  ranch  house  once  in 
conspicuous  view  from  the  railroad  station. 

Casco  (skull),  shell  or  outside  part  of  any- 
thing. El  Casco  is  situated  about  twelve  miles 

79 


east  of  Riverside.    Its  application  here  has  not 
been  ascertained. 

Conejo  (rabbit)  is  the  name  of  a  number  of 
places  in  the  state,  one  of  them  in  the  Santa 
Monica  Mountains,  another  in  the  Central  Val- 
ley, on  the  Santa  Fe  road. 

Cacamonga  is  an  Indian  name,  derived  from 
a  village  in  San  Bernardino  County,  forty-two 
miles  by  rail  east  of  Los  Angeles.  It  was  origin- 
ally applied  to  the  land  grant  at  that  plade. 

Duarte,  a  surname. 

Las  Flores  (the  flowers).  At  this  place  there 
was  once  a  large  Indian  village,  called  in  the 
native  language  ushmai,  the  place  of  roses,  from 
ushla,  rose. 

Garvanza  (chick-pea).  Garvanza  is  a  corrupt 
word,  possibly  corrupted  from  garbanzo  (chick- 
pea). The  town  name  is  a  modern  one,  given 
not  by  Spaniards  but  by  tenderfeet,  and  there  is 
no  known  reason  for  its  application. 

Hermosa  (beautiful)  is  the  name  of  a  town  in 
San  Bernardino  County,  and  of  a  beach  in  Los 
Angeles  County,  also  of  a  mine  in  Nevada 
County. 

Indio,  the  Spanish  word  for  "Indian,"  is  the 
name  of  a  place  in  Riverside  County,  near  Col- 
ton. 

La  Joya  (the  jewel). 
80 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


Laguna  (lagoon). 

La  Mirada  (the  view). 

Los  Molinos  (the  mills,  or  mill-stones),  a 
name  applied  to  a  place  east  of  San  Gabriel  by 
the  Moraga  party  of  1819,  who  went  out  from 
the  mission  on  a  punitive  expedition  against  the 
Amajaba  (Mohave)  Indians.  Padre  Nuez,  who 
accompanied  the  party,  says:  "On  the  return 
we  passed  by  a  place  where  there  was  plenty  of 
water,  below  a  hill  of  red  stone,  very  suitable 
for  mill-stones."  The  same  name,  probably  for 
similar  reasons,  was  applied  to  other  places  in 
the  state,  among  them  one  in  Sonoma  County, 
and  Mill  Creek  in  Tehama  County,  originally 
called  El  Rio  de  los  Molinos  (The  River  of  the 
Mill-stones) . 

Montalvo  (a  surname),  the  name  of  a  place  in 
Ventura  County,  near  Ventura.  This  name  is 
interesting  as  being  the  same  as  that  borne  by 
the  author  of  Las  Sergas  de  Esplandidn,  in 
which  the  fabulous  island  of  California  plays  a 
leading  part. 

Marietta  (a  surname),  the  same  as  that  of  the 
noted  bandit,  Joaquin  Murietta,  who  once  ter- 
rorized California  with  his  depredations.  The 
town  of  Murietta,  however,  was  not  named  in 
honor  of  this  gentleman  of  unsavory  memory, 

81 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


but  for  Mr.  J.  Murietta,  who  is  still  living  in 
Southern  California. 

Los  Nietos  (literally  "the  grandchildren"),  but 
in  this  case  a  surname,  that  of  the  Nieto  family. 
Los  Nietos  was  a  land  grant  taken  up  by  Manuel 
Nieto  and  Jose  Maria  Verdugo  in  1784. 

Pasadena,  said  to  be  derived  from  the  Chip- 
pewa  Indian  language.  The  full  name  is  said  to 
be  Weoquan  Pasadena,  and  the  meaning  to  be 
"Crown  of  the  Valley."  Let  no  man  believe  in 
the  absurd  story  that  it  means  "Pass  of  Eden." 
Professor  Kroeber  says:  "No  unsophisticated 
and  very  few  civilized  Indians  would  think  of 
calling  any  place  the  'crown  of  the  valley.'  The 
phrase  has  all  the  appearance  of  having  been 
coined  by  an  American  out  of  Indian  or  imagin- 
ary Indian  terms." 

Prado  (meadow).  "The  Prado"  is  also  the 
name  of  a  famous  promenade  in  the  city  of 
Madrid.  In  the  present  instance  it  is  a  modern 
name  applied  without  much  regard  for  its  fit- 
ness. 

Puente  (bridge),  in  Los  Angeles  County,  was 
taken  from  the  name  of  the  land  grant,  Rancho 
de  la  Puente. 

Pulgas  Creek  (fleas  creek). 

Redondo  Beach  (round  beach),  a  well-known 
seaside  resort  near  Los  Angeles,  is  usually  sup- 

82 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


posed  to  have  received  its  name  from  the  curved 
line  of  the  shore  there,  but  the  fact  that  a  land 
grant  occupying  that  identical  spot  was  called 
Sausal  Redondo  (round  willow-grove),  from  a 
clump  of  willows  growing  there  accounts  for 
its  name. 

Rivera  (river,  stream).  Rivera  was  also  the 
name  of  a  pioneer  family.  Rivera  should  be 
spelled  with  a  "b"  instead  of  a  "v."  It  means 
"banks  of  a  stream,"  and  the  name  is  given  for 
this  reason. 

Rodeo  de  las  Aguas  (gathering  of  the  waters), 
a  name  once  given  to  the  present  site  of  La  Brea 
Rancho,  near  Los  Angeles,  perhaps  because 
there  is  at  that  point  a  natural  amphitheatre 
which  receives  the  greater  portion  of  the  waters 
flowing  from  the  neighboring  mountains  and  the 
Cahuenga  Pass. 

San  Clemente  (St.  Clement),  the  name  of  the 
island  fifteen  miles  south  of  Santa  Catalina. 
The  saint  for  whom  this  island  was  named  "was 
condemned  to  be  cast  into  the  sea  bound  to  an 
anchor.  But  when  the  Christians  prayed,  the 
waters  were  driven  back  for  three  miles,  and 
they  saw  a  ruined  temple  which  the  sea  had 
covered,  and  in  it  was  found  the  body  of  the 
saint,  with  the  anchor  round  his  neck.  For  many 
years,  at  the  anniversary  of  his  death,  the  sea 

83 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 

o. 


retreated  for  seven  days,  and  pilgrimages  were 
made  to  this  submarine  tomb." — (Stories  of  the 
Saints.) 

San  Jacinto  (St.  Hyacinth)  was  a  Silesian 
nobleman  who  became  a  monk,  and  was  noted 
for  his  intellectual  superiority,  as  well  as  for  his 
piety.  San  Jacinto  is  the  name  of  a  town  in 
Riverside  County,  thirty  miles  southeast  of 
Riverside,  in  the  fruit  region,  and  of  the  range 
of  mountains  in  the  same  county. 

San  Juan  Point  (St.  John  Point) . 

San  Mateo  Point  (St.  Matthew  Point) . 

San  Onofre  (St.  Onophrius)  was  a  hermit  saint 
whose  chief  claim  to  sanctity  seems  to  have  been 
that  he  deprived  himself  of  all  the  comforts  of 
life  and  lived  for  sixty  years  in  the  desert,  "dur- 
ing which  time  he  never  uttered  a  word  except 
in  prayer,  nor  saw  a  human  face." 

San  Pedro  (St.  Peter)  is  on  San  Pedro  Bay, 
twenty-six  miles  south  of  Los  Angeles.  St.  Peter 
was  a  fisherman  of  Capernaum  who  left  his 
home  to  follow  Christ  and  preach  His  Gospel. 
He  and  St.  Paul  are  called  "the  two  princes 
among  the  apostles."  Much  discussion  has  raged 
around  the  question  of  the  place  and  circum- 
stance of  St.  Peter's  death,  but  Catholic  authori- 
ties regard  it  as  beyond  doubt  that  he  was  mar- 
tyred at  Rome,  though  the  exact  spot  there  is  not 

84 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


certain.  According  to  the  Scriptures  the  name 
Peter  signifies  "a  rock."  "Thou  art  Peter,  on 
this  rock  have  I  founded  my  church."  (Matthew, 
16-18.)  It  seems  probable,  however,  that  San 
Pedro  Bay  was  not  named  in  honor  of  the 
apostle  St.  Peter,  but  for  St.  Peter  the  martyr, 
Bishop  of  Alexandria,  who  was  martyred  in  the 
year  311.  The  fact  that  Vizcaino  first  sighted  the 
bay  on  November  26th,  the  feast  day  of  the 
Alexandrian  saint,  leads  to  this  supposition. 

Saticoy  was  the  name  of  a  former  Chumash 
Indian  village  on  the  lower  part  of  Santa  Paula 
River,  in  Ventura  County,  about  eight  miles 
from  the  sea.  The  present  town  of  Saticoy  is  on 
the  Santa  Clara  River,  in  Ventura  County,  near 
Ventura. 

Serra  (a  surname),  probably  given  in  honor 
of  the  celebrated  founder  of  the  California  mis- 
sions. 

El  Toro  (the  bull). 

Trabuco  Canyon  (literally  blunderbuss  can- 
yon). This  name  originated  in  the  circumstance 
that  the  men  in  the  first  expedition  under  Cap- 
tain Anza  lost  a  trabuco  (a  short,  wide-mouthed 
gun)  in  this  canyon. — Diary  of  Father  Font. 

Valle  Verde  (green  valley) ,  incorrectly  spelled 
on  the  map  as  Val  Verde. 

Valle  Vista  (valley  view)  is  in  Riverside 
85 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


County,  five  miles  northwest  of  San  Jacinto. 
This  name  is  modern  and  incorrect  in  construc- 
tion, 

Verdugo  was  named  for  the  Verdugo  family, 
the  owners  of  the  Rancho  San  Rafael,  northeast 
of  Los  Angeles  and  near  the  base  of  the  Verdugo 
Mountains.  Jose  Maria  Verdugo  was  one  of  the 
grantees  of  the  Nietos  grant  in  1784. 

Vicente  Point  (Point  Vincent) .  This  point  was 
named  in  1793  by  George  Vancouver,  the  Eng- 
lish explorer,  in  honor  of  Friar  Vicente  Santa 
Maria,  "one  of  the  reverend  fathers  of  the  mis- 
sion of  Buena  Ventura." 


86 


IN  THE  VICINITY  OF 
SANTA  BARBARA^ 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


IN  THE  VICINITY  OF  SANTA  BARBARA 

Santa  Barbara,  the  charming  little  town  that 
dreams  away  its  existence  among  the  flowers  of 
its  old  gardens,  on  the  shore  of  the  sheltered 
stretch  of  water  formed  by  the  islands  lying  to 
the  seaward,  was  named  for  a  noble  lady  of 
Heliopolis,  the  daughter  of  Dioscorus.  She  be- 
cariie  converted  to  Christianity,  and  was  in  con- 
sequence cruelly  persecuted  and  finally  be- 
headed by  her  own  father.  "The  legend  that  her 
father  was  struck  by  lightning  in  punishment 
for  this  crime  probably  caused  her  to  be  re- 
garded by  the  common  people  as  the  guardian 
saint  against  tempest  and  fire,  and  later,  by 
analogy,  as  the  protectress  of  artillery-men  and 
miners." — (Catholic  Encyclopedia.)  For  this 
reason  her  image  was  placed  over  the  doors  of 
powder  magazines,  and  her  name  came  at  last 
to  be  applied  to  the  magazines  themselves, 
which  are  known  to  the  Spanish  people  as 
santabdrbaras.  Thus  is  explained  the  apparent 
incongruity  between  the  name  of  the  gentle 
saint  and  the  places  for  storage  of  the  instru- 
ments of  savage  war.  The  channel  between  the 

89 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


mainland  and  the  chain  of  islands  was  entered 
by  Vizcaino  in  1602,  on  the  4th  day  of  December, 
which  is  the  feast  day  of  Santa  Barbara,  and  for 
this  reason  the  name  was  bestowed  upon  it. 

At  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  the 
shores  of  the  Santa  Barbara  channel  probably 
supported  a  denser  native  population  than  any 
other  part  of  the  state.  The  gracious  climate  and 
never-failing  food  supply  furnished  by  the  gen- 
erous waters  of  the  ocean,  enabled  the  Indians 
to  live  at  ease. 

When  Cabrillo  entered  the  channel  in  1542, 
he  reported  that:  "A  great  number  of  Indians 
issued  from  the  bushes,  yelling  and  dancing, 
and  making  signs,  inviting  us  to  come  on  shore. 
They  laid  down  their  bows  and  arrows  and 
came  to  the  vessel  in  a  good  canoe.  They  pos- 
sessed boats,  large  enough  to  carry  twelve  or 
fourteen  men,  well-constructed  of  bent  planks 
and  cemented  with  bitumen." 

These  Indians  were  of  a  higher  order  of  in- 
telligence than  those  farther  north,  and  were 
skilled  in  some  of  the  arts,  including  the  making 
of  excellent  pottery.  They  were  expert  fisher- 
men, using  nets  for  the  purpose,  and  often  eat- 
ing the  fish  raw.  They  wore  their  hair  long,  tied 
up  with  long  cords,  to  which  many  small  dag- 
gers of  flint,  wood  and  bone  were  attached.  They 

90 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


had  some  notion  of  music,  using  a  primitive  sort 
of  flute,  or  whistle,  made  of  the  hollow  bones  of 
birds.  They  lived  in  conical  houses,  which  were 
covered  well  down  to  the  ground. 

When  Father  Serra  passed  that  way,  more 
than  two  centuries  later,  he  found  the  same  con- 
ditions of  population,  counting  as  many  as 
twenty  populous  villages  along  the  channel.  He 
was  moved  to  bitter  tears  of  grief  over  the  delay 
in  establishing  a  mission  where  so  rich  a  harvest 
of  souls  lay  ready  to  his  hand.  He  died  before 
this  dearest  wish  of  his  heart  was  accomplished, 
yet  Santa  Barbara  may  justly  claim  the  honor 
of  his  presence  at  her  birth,  for  he  took  part  in 
the  establishment  of  the  presidio,  which  oc- 
cured  in  1783,  three  years  before  the  building  of 
the  mission.  In  Palou's  Life  of  Serra  he  de- 
scribes that  occasion  thus :  "The  party  traveled 
along  the  coast  of  the  channel,  in  sight  of  the 
islands  which  form  it,  and  when  they  judged  it 
to  be  about  half  way,  about  nine  leagues  from 
San  Buenaventura,  they  stopped  and  selected  a 
site  for  the  presidio,  in  sight  of  the  beach,  which 
there  forms  a  sort  of  bay,  furnishing  anchorage 
for  ships.  On  this  beach  there  was  a  large  vil- 
lage of  gentiles.  Here  the  cross  was  raised, 
Father  Serra  blessed  it  and  the  land,  and  held 
mass.  The  following  day  they  began  to  cut  wood 

93 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


for  the  building  of  the  chapel,  the  priest's  house, 
officials'  houses,  cuartel,  almacenes  (store- 
houses), houses  for  families  of  married  soldiers 
and  the  stockade." 

The  mission,  which  is  still  in  an  excellent  state 
of  preservation,  was  not  established  until  De- 
cember 4,  1786,  although  Serra  looked  upon 
that  location  as  the  most  desirable  in  California, 
and  spent  the  last  years  of  his  life  in  constant 
efforts  to  urge  on  the  authorities  to  the  work. 
That  his  hopes  were  realized  to  the  full  after  his 
death,  and  that  large  numbers  of  natives,  as 
well  as  the  succeeding  white  parishioners,  knelt 
before  the  altar  dedicated  to  the  gentle  Santa 
Barbara,  is  evidenced  by  the  deeply  worn  marks 
of  several  generations  of  feet  to  be  seen  in  the 
wide  flight  of  steps  at  the  entrance. 

A  legend  has  long  gone  the  rounds  that  Santa 
Barbara  is  unique  among  the  missions  in  having 
within  her  gardens,  hidden  behind  their  seclud- 
ing walls,  a  "holy  of  holies,"  where  no  woman's 
foot  is  permitted  to  press  the  sacred  soil.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  this  convent  varies  in  no  wise 
from  others  in  the  particular  of  prohibiting  the 
entrance  of  persons  of  the  opposite  sex,  male  or 
female  as  the  case  may  be,  into  their  inner 
cloisters. 

San  Buenaventura  Mission,  at  the  town  now 
94 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


called  Ventura,  stands  near  the  southeastern  end 
of  the  Santa  Barbara  channel.  It  was  the  last 
work  of  the  great  Serra,  and  was  founded  March 
31,  1782,  by  the  venerable  president  himself  and 
Father  Cambon.  Palou  gives  us  a  detailed  ac- 
count of  this  event  in  his  Life  of  Serra:  "March 
26th,  the  whole  party,  the  largest  ever  engaged 
in  the  founding  of  a  mission,  soldiers,  settlers, 
and  their  families,  muleteers,  etc.,  but  only  two 
priests,  Padres  Serra  and  Cambon,  set  out  .  .  . 
They  went  on  to  the  head  of  the  channel,  a  site 
near  the  beach,  on  whose  edge  there  was  a  large 
town  of  gentiles  (unbaptized  Indians),  well 
built  of  pyramidal  houses  made  of  straw.  They 
raised  the  cross,  erected  an  arbor  to  serve  as 
chapel,  made  an  altar  and  adorned  it.  On  the 
last  day  of  March  they  took  possession  and  held 
the  first  mass.  The  natives  assisted  willingly  in 
building  the  chapel,  and  continued  friendly, 
helping  to  build  a  house  for  the  padre, — all  of 
wood.  The  soldiers  began  to  cut  timbers  for 
their  houses,  and  for  the  stockade.  They  also 
went  to  work  at  once  to  conduct  water  by 
ditches  from  a  neighboring  stream,  to  bring  it 
conveniently  near  the  houses,  and  to  serve  to 
irrigate  crops.  By  means  of  a  neophyte,  brought 
from  San  Gabriel,  they  were  able  to  communi- 
cate with  the  natives,  and  to  let  them  know  that 

95 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


their  only  purpose  in  coming  here  was  to  direct 
their  souls  to  Heaven." 

The  patron  of  this  mission  was  originally 
named  Giovanni  Fidanga.  When  a  child  he  fell 
very  ill,  and  was  taken  by  his  mother  to  St. 
Francis  to  be  healed.  When  the  saint  saw  him 
recovered  he  exclaimed:  "0  buena  ventura!" 
whereupon  his  mother  dedicated  him  to  God  by 
the  name  of  Buenaventura  (good  fortune).  It  is 
a  pity  that  a  name  of  such  happy  augury  should 
be  mutilated  by  the  amputation  of  its  first  part, 
the  town  and  county  now  appearing  as  Ventura. 


ASUNCION 

In  the  diaries  of  the  Spanish  pioneers,  a  dis- 
tinct impression  is  conveyed  that  the  California 
Indians,  so  far  from  being  morose  and  taciturn, 
as  their  brothers  in  other  parts  of  the  United 
States  are  often  portrayed,  were  rather  a  merry 
lot,  and  received  the  white  men  everywhere  in 
their  long  journey  up  the  coast,  with  music, 
feasting  and  the  dance.  In  fact,  we  run  across  a 
complaint  now  and  then  that  their  hospitality 
was  sometimes  so  insistent  that  their  guests  suf- 
fered from  loss  of  sleep,  the  serenading  being 
kept  up  during  the  entire  night. 

96 


T  H  E I  ft      M  K  A  X  I  X  G      AND      ROMANCE 


Their  music,  no  doubt  of  the  most  primitive 
sort,  was  produced  by  means  of  a  "small  whistle, 
sometimes  double,  sometimes  single,  about  the 
size  and  length  of  a  common  fife.  It  was  held  in 
the  mouth  by  one  end,  without  the  aid  of  the 
fingers,  and  only  about  two  notes  could  be 
sounded  on  it." — (Bancroft,  from  Gal.  Farmer.) 

Along  the  Santa  Barbara  channel  the  festivi- 
ties in  honor  of  the  strangers  were  especially 
lively.  At  Asuncion  (Assumption),  a  point  on 
the  coast  five  leagues  below  Carpinteria,  they 
enjoyed  a  reception  of  which  we  read  in  Cos- 
tanso's  diary  of  the  Portola  expedition  of  1769, 
date  of  August  14th:  "We  reached  the  coast, 
and  came  in  sight  of  a  real  town,  situated  on  a 
tongue  or  point  of  land,  right  on  the  shore, 
which  it  dominated,  seeming  to  command  the 
waters.  We  counted  as  many  as  thirty  large 
and  capacious  houses,  spherical  in  form,  well 
built  and  thatched  with  grass.  We  judged  there 
could  not  be  less  than  four  hundred  souls  in  the 
town.  These  natives  are  well  built  and  of  a  good 
disposition,  very  agile  and  alert,  diligent  and 
skillful.  Their  handiness  and  ability  were  at 
their  best  in  the  construction  of  their  canoes, 
made  of  good  pine  boards,  well  joined  and 
calked,  and  of  a  pleasing  form.  They  handle 
these  with  equal  skill,  and  three  or  four  men  go 

97 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 

^•v 
t 


out  to  sea  in  them  to  fish,  for  they  will  hold 
eight  or  ten  men.  They  use  long,  double-bladed 
paddles,  and  row  with  indescribable  agility  and 
swiftness.  All  their  work  is  neat  and  well  fin- 
ished, and  what  is  most  worthy  of  surprise  is 
that  to  work  the  wood  and  stone  they  have  no 
other  tools  than  those  made  of  flint  ....  We 
saw,  and  obtained  in  exchange  for  strings  of 
glass  beads,  and  other  trinkets,  some  baskets  or 
trays  made  of  reeds,  with  different  designs; 
wooden  plates,  and  bowls  of  different  forms  and 
sizes,  made  of  one  piece,  so  that  not  even  those 
turned  out  in  a  lathe  could  be  more  successful. 
They  presented  us  with  a  quantity  of  fish,  par- 
ticularly the  kind  known  as  bonito;  it  has  as 
good  a  flavor  as  that  caught  in  the  tunny-fish- 
eries of  Cartegena  de  Levante,  and  on  the  coasts 
of  Granada.  We  gave  it  the  name  of  La  Asun- 
cion de  Nuestra  Senora  (the  Assumption  of  Our 
Lady),  because  we  reached  it  on  the  eve  of  that 
festival." 

EL  BAILARIN 

El  Bailarin  (the  dancer).  This  spot,  one  league 
from  Carpinteria,  was  named  in  honor  of  a 
nimble-footed  Indian,  who  cheered  the  weary 
travelers  on  their  way,  as  thus  told  by  Father 

98 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


Crespi,  in  his  diary  of  the  Portola  expedition: 
"This  place  was  named  through  the  notable  fact 
of  an  Indian  having  feasted  us  extraordinarily 
two  leagues  beyond  (always  coasting  the  sea- 
shore), where  there  is  a  large  town  on  a  point 
of  land  on  the  same  shore;  which  Indian  was  a 
robust  man  of  good  form,  and  a  great  dancer; 
through  respect  for  him  we  called  this  town,  of 
which  our  friend  was  a  resident,  El  Pueblo  del 
Bailarin  (the  Town  of  the  Dancer)." 

Rancheria  del  Baile  de  las  Indias  (Village  of 
the  Dance  of  the  Indian  Women) .  As  a  rule,  the 
women  seemed  to  take  no  part  in  the  dances, 
but  Costanso  tells  of  one  occasion  when  they 
joined  in  the  festivities :  "They  honored  us  with 
a  dance,  and  it  was  the  first  place  where  we  saw 
the  women  dance.  Two  of  these  excelled  the 
others;  they  had  a  bunch  of  flowers  in  their 
hands,  and  accompanied  the  dance  with  various 
graceful  gestures  and  movements,  without  get- 
ting out  of  time  in  their  songs.  We  called  the 
place  the  Rancheria  del  Baile  de  las  Indias." 

This  place  was  about  five  leagues  from  Point 
Pedernales. 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


CARPINTERIA 

Carpinteria  is  the  name  of  a  little  cluster  of 
houses  near  the  shore  about  ten  miles  east  of 
Santa  Barbara.  It  lies  in  a  region  once  densely 
populated  with  natives  of  very  "gentle  and  mild 
disposition."  The  story  of  its  naming  is  told  by 
Father  Crespi,  of  the  Portola  party:  "Not  very 
far  from  the  town  we  saw  some  springs  of 
asphaltum.  These  Indians  have  many  canoes, 
and  at  that  time  were  constructing  one,  for 
which  reason  the  soldiers  named  this  town  Car- 
pinteria (carpenter  shop),  but  I  baptized  it  with 
the  name  of  San  Roque" 


MONTECITO 

Montecito  (little  hill  or  little  wood)  is  the 
name  of  a  small  village  about  six  miles  from 
Santa  Barbara.  The  country  in  this  vicinity, 
through  its  extraordinary  charm  of  climate  and 
scenery,  has  attracted  a  large  number  of  very 
rich  people,  whose  splendid  country  houses,  in 
bizarre  contrast,  now  occupy  the  self-same  spots 
where  the  Indians  once  raised  their  flimsy  huts 
of  straw. 

100 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


SANTA  CRUZ  ISLAND 

While  traversing  the  shore  of  Santa  Barbara 
channel,  the  Portola  expedition  of  1769  took 
time  to  make  trips  to  the  islands  and  bestow 
names  upon  them.  The  island  of  Santa  Cruz 
received  its  name  from  a  rather  trivial  circum- 
stance. By  some  chance  the  padres  lost  there  a 
staff  which  bore  a  cross  on  the  end.  They  gave 
it  up  as  irretrievably  lost,  so  were  the  more 
pleased  when  the  Indians  appeared  the  follow- 
ing day  to  restore  it.  From  this  they  gave  the 
island  the  name  of  Santa  Cruz  (Holy  Cross) . 


RANCHERIA  DE  LA  ESPADA 

Of  the  Rancheria  de  la  Espada  (village  of  the 
sword),  Captain  Pages,  of  the  Portola  expedi- 
tion says:  "Two  and  a  half  leagues  northwest 
of  Point  Conception,  another  glen  is  found  with 
a  population  of  twenty  hearths,  with  250  In- 
dians, more  or  less.  The  natives  of  the  settle- 
ment here  are  extremely  poor  and  starved,  so 
that  they  can  scarcely  live,  being  without  canoes, 
in  rugged  land,  and  short  of  firewood.  While 
here  a  soldier  lost  his  sword,  leaving  it  carelessly 

101 

LIBRARY 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


fastened,  so  that  they  took  it  from  his  belt.  But 
the  Indians  who  saw  this  theft  themselves  ran 
in  pursuit  of  the  thief,  and  deprived  him  of  the 
article  in  order  that  its  owner  might  recover  it." 
From  this  the  place  received  the  name  of  the 
Rancheria  de  la  Espada,  and  the  little  story  is 
still  commemorated  in  the  name  of  Espada 
Landing. 

MATILIJA 

Matilija  Creek  and  Matilija  Springs,  in  Ven- 
tura County,  derive  their  name  from  an  Indian 
village,  one  of  those  mentioned  in  the  mission 
archives.  The  name  is  best  known  as  applied  to 
the  Matilija  poppy,  that  flower  of  the  gods  which 
has  its  native  habitat  along  the  banks  of  the 
creek.  This  giant  poppy,  by  reason  of  its  extra- 
ordinary size  and  delicate  beauty,  has  a  just 
claim  to  be  called  "queen  of  all  California's  wild 
flowers,"  as  the  Sequoia  is  king  of  her  trees.  It 
is  a  perennial  plant,  of  shrubby  character,  and 
grows  wild  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state, 
from  the  Santa  Maria  River  southward,  extend- 
ing into  Lower  California,  where  it  spreads  over 
large  areas.  It  flourishes  in  particular  luxuri- 
ance in  the  Matilija  canyon,  but  the  popular  idea 
that  that  spot  was  its  only  habitat  is  erroneous. 

102 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


The  shrub  reaches  a  height  of  eight  or  ten  feet, 
has  gray-green  foliage,  and  bears  splendid,  six- 
petaled  white  flowers,  often  six  or  seven  inches 
in  diameter,  "of  a  crepe-like  texture',  pure 
glistening  white,  with  bright  yellow  centers."  "It 
not  only  grows  in  fertile  valleys,  but  seeks  the 
seclusion  of  remote  canyons,  and  nothing  more 
magnificent  could  be  imagined  than  a  steep 
canyon-side  covered  with  the  great  bushy  plants, 
thickly  covered  with  the  enormous  white  flow- 
ers."—  (Miss  Parsons,  quoted  by  J.  Burt  Davy,  in 
Bailey's  Cyclopedia  of  American  Horticulture.) 

POINT  PEDERNALES 

Captain  Fages,  of  the  Portola  party,  says  of 
this  place:  "Going  two  leagues  through  high 
land,  and  with  a  good  outlook  over  the  sea 
coast,  a  flowing  stream  appears,  with  very  good 
water,  and  near  it  a  poor  settlement  of  only  ten 
houses,  probably  numbering  about 'sixty  inhab- 
itants, crowded  together.  We  stopped  at  the 
place  near  where  a  strip  or  point  of  land  ex- 
tends to  the  sea.  There  we  gathered  a  multitude 
of  flints,  good  for  fire-arms,  and  so  this  place  is 
called  Los  Pedernales  (the  flints)." 

Point  Pedernales  still  remains  as  the  name  of 
103 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


"that  point  of  land  extending  into  the  sea,"  a 
few  miles  north  of  Point  Conception. 


CAMULOS 

Camulos,  also  spelled  Kamulas,  was  the  name 
of  an  Indian  village  near  San  Buenaventura. 
This  village  is  among  those  mentioned  in  the 
mission  archives,  and  is  noted  as  the  home  of 
Ramona,  the  heroine  of  Mrs.  Helen  Hunt  Jack- 
son's romance.  The  meaning  of  the  word  Cam- 
ulos,  according  to  Professor  A.  L.  Kroeber,  is 
"my  fruit." 


SUPPLEMENTARY  LIST 

Los  Alamos  (the  cottonwoods)  is  in  Santa 
Barbara  County,  northwest  of  Santa  Barbara. 
The  alamo  is  a  species  of  poplar  tree  indigenous 
to  California  and  widely  spread  throughout  the 
state. 

Argtiello  Point  is  on  the  coast  of  Santa  Bar- 
bara County,  just  south  of  Point  Pedernales. 
Arguello  is  a  surname,  that  of  a  pioneer  family, 
of  which  Jose  Dario  Arguello  was  the  founder. 
"For  many  years  Don  Jose  was  the  most  promi- 

104 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


nent,  influential  and  respected  man  in  Califor- 
nia."—  (Bancroft.)  Arguello  Point  was  named 
by  Vancouver  in  honor  of  the  Spanish  governor. 
-(Mr.  Charles  B.  Turrill.) 

El  Co  jo  (the  lame  one) .  This  place,  near  Point 
Conception,  was  so  named  by  the  Spaniards 
because  they  saw  here  an  Indian  chief  who  was 
lame. 

Point  Concepcion,  the  point  at  the  southwest- 
ern extremity  of  Santa  Barbara  County,  was  so 
named  in  reference  to  the  "immaculate  concep- 
tion" of  the  Virgin. 

Los  Dos  Pueblos  (the  two  towns)  is  on  the 
coast  a  few  miles  west  of  Santa  Barbara.  On 
October  16,  1542,  the  Cabrillo  expedition  an- 
chored opposite  two  Indian  villages  here,  and 
named  the  place  Los  Dos  Pueblos.  "Although 
these  villages  were  separated  only  by  a  small 
stream,  their  inhabitants  were  of  a  different  race 
and  language,  those  on  one  side  being  short, 
thick  and  swarthy,  and  on  the  other  tall,  slender 
and  not  so  dark.  The  depth  of  the  kitchen  refuse 
at  the  site  of  these  two  towns  indicates  that  these 
Indians  had  lived  here  since  the  Christian  era 
and  were  contemporary  with  the  mound  build- 
ers."— (History  of  Santa  Barbara  County.) 

Bancroft,  however,  has  little  faith  in  the  extra- 
ordinary antiquity  ascribed  to  the  Indian  re- 

105 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


mains  found  at  this  place,  and  says  in  regard 
to  them:  "There  was  a  tendency  at  first,  as  is 
usual  in  such  cases,  to  ascribe  the  channel  relics 
to  a  pre-historic  race,  but  nothing  indicating 
such  an  origin  has  ever  been  found  there." 

Gaviota  (sea-gull)  is  on  the  shore  a  few  miles 
west  of  Santa  Barbara.  Father  Crespi  mentions 
having  given  this  name  to  another  place  further 
down  the  coast:  "We  reached  an  estuary,  on 
whose  border  stood  a  rancheria  of  fifty-two 
huts,  with  three  hundred  people.  For  having 
killed  a  sea-gull  here,  the  soldiers  called  this 
place  La  Gaviota,  but  I  named  it  San  Luis  Rey 
de  Francia."  As  San  Luis  Rey  it  has  remained 
on  the  map. 

Gaviota  Pass  is  an  important  gap  in  the  Santa 
Inez  range. 

Every  one  who  has  crossed  the  bay  of  San 
Francisco  in  the  winter  season  must  have  re- 
joiced in  the  sight  of  the  flying  convoy  of  those 
beautiful  creatures,  the  gaviotas,  by  which  each 
ferry-boat  is  accompanied. 

Goleta  (schooner)  is  the  name  of  a  village  in 
Santa  Barbara  County,  seven  miles  west  of 
Santa  Barbara. 

Guadalupe.  This  name  is  Spanish-Arabic,  but 
in  Mexico  it  may  represent  certain  Aztec  sounds. 
Guadalupe  is  strictly  the  name  of  a  picture,  but 

106 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


was  extended  to  the  church  containing  the  pic- 
ture and  to  the  town  that  grew  up  around  it.  It 
is  a  name  held  in  the  deepest  reverence  by  every 
Mexican,  for  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  is  the  pa- 
tron saint  of  that  country.  There  is  a  delight- 
fully romantic  story  of  her  first  appearance 
which  runs  as  follows:  On  a  certain  day  long 
ago,  fixed  exactly  as  Saturday,  December  9, 
1531,  a  poor  Indian  neophyte  named  Juan  Diego 
was  hurrying  down  Tepeyac  Hill  to  hear  mass 
in  Mexico  City.  Suddenly  the  Blessed  Virgin 
appeared  to  him  and  gave  him  a  message  for 
Bishop  Zumarraga,  asking  that  a  temple  be  built 
to  her  where  she  stood.  The  Bishop  asked  for 
a  sign  that  she  was  the  true  mother  of  God.  The 
Indian  returned,  and  the  Virgin  told  him  to 
gather  roses  in  his  cloak  and  take  them  to  the 
Bishop.  This  he  did,  and  when  the  cloak,  made 
of  poor  sack  cloth,  was  unrolled,  the  roses  fell 
out  and  a  life-size  figure  of  the  Virgin  was  seen 
imprinted  on  it.  From  that  day  Our  Lady  of 
Guadalupe  was  made  an  object  of  veneration, 
and  was  adopted  as  the  patroness  of  Mexico. 
The  church  dedicated  to  her  worship  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  City  of  Mexico  has  become  a 
shrine  for  pilgrims,  and  its  interior  is  crowded 
with  offerings  of  all  sorts  made  in  gratitude  to 
the  saint  by  votaries  who  believe  themselves  to 

107 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


have  been  saved  from  peril  by  sea  and  land 
through  the  saint's  intervention.  Outside  of  it 
may  be  seen  the  famous  "Sails  of  Guadalupe," 
a  representation  in  stone  of  the  sails  of  a  ship, 
which  was  erected  by  some  sailors  in  expres- 
sion of  their  gratitude  for  rescue  from  a  ship- 
wreck. 

The  name  is  a  great  favorite  among  Mexicans, 
not  only  to  designate  places,  but  also  as  a  Chris- 
tian name  for  both  men  and  women.  In  Cali- 
fornia there  is  the  town  of  Guadalupe  near  the 
northern  border  of  Santa  Barbara  County,  and 
the  river  bearing  the  same  name  in  Santa  Clara 
County,  originally  called  by  the  Spaniards  El 
Rio  de  Nuestra  Senora  de  Guadalupe,  no  doubt 
because  it  was  discovered  on  her  feast  day,  De- 
cember 12th.  The  story  of  the  naming  of  this 
stream  is  given  by  Father  Font  in  his  diary  of 
the  Anza  expedition  of  1776 :  "We  set  out  from 
the  Arroyo  de  San  Mateo  at  a  quarter  past  seven 
in  the  morning,  and  at  four  in  the  afternoon 
halted  on  the  other  side  of  a  river  which  we 
called  El  Rio  de  Guadalupe.  It  has  its  outlet  in 
the  extremity  of  the  port,  and  for  about  a  league 
above  its  mouth  is  very  deep,  on  account  of  its 
waters  being  backed  up  and  without  current. 

Lompoc  is  one  of  the  names  of  Indian  villages 
taken  from  the  mission  archives.  It  is  situated 

108 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


iii'ly  miles  northwest  of  Santa  Barbara,  on  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad. 

Nojoqui,  in  Santa  Barbara  County,  was  pre- 
sumably the  name  of  an  Indian  village. 

Los  Olivos  (the  olives)  is  in  Santa  Barbara 
County,  on  the  Coast  Line  Railroad. 

La  Piedra  Pintado,  (the  painted  rock)  is  about 
eighty  miles  from  Santa  Barbara.  Here  there 
was  a  stone  wigwam,  forty  or  fifty  yards  in 
diameter,  whose  walls  were  covered  with  paint- 
ings in  the  form  of  halos  and  circles,  with  radia- 
tions from  the  center. — (History  of  Santa  Bar- 
bara County.) 

Punta  Gorda  (fat  or  broad  point)  is  one  of  the 
points  of  land  running  into  the  sea  from  the 
Santa  Barbara  Coast.  Its  name  indicates  its 
shape. 

Punta  de  las  Ritas  (point  of  the  rites),  per- 
haps refers  to  some  religious  ceremony  held 
upon  that  spot. 

La  Purisima  Conception  (the  immaculate 
conception)  was  the  third  of  the  channel  mis- 
sions. It  was  founded  on  the  south  bank  of  the 
Santa  Inez  River,  then  called  the  Santa  Rosa,  on 
December  8,  1787.  The  site  is  in  Santa  Barbara 
County,  near  the  town  of  Lompoc,  and  a  short 
distance  from  the  coast.  Although  it  was  the 
most  modest  of  all  the  missions  in  its  architec- 

109 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


ture  and  dimensions,  it  had  a  very  stirring  his- 
tory. In  1812  a  terrific  earthquake,  said  to  be 
the  most  violent  that  has  ever  occurred  in  Cali- 
fornia, reduced  the  church  building  and  the 
houses  of  the  Indians  to  ruins.  The  earth  opened 
in  several  places,  emitting  water  and  black  sand, 
and  torrents  of  rain  caused  floods  in  the  river 
which  completed  the  ruin.  The  fathers  were  un- 
dismayed, however,  and  went  immediately  to 
work  to  replace  the  first  buildings,  which  were 
of  adobe,  with  more  solid  structures  of  stone. 
The  next  disaster  was  a  revolt  of  the  natives  in 
1824,  during  which  the  Indians  used  the  church 
as  a  fort.  They  erected  palisades,  cut  loopholes 
in  the  walls  of  the  church  and  other  buildings, 
and  mounted  one  or  two  rusty  old  cannon. 
When  the  attacking  party  appeared  on  the  scene 
they  were  met  by  a  lively  fire  from  the  natives 
inside  the  church,  but  their  marksmanship  was 
so  poor  that  little  execution  was  done.  The  re- 
volt was  soon  put  down,  and  affairs  at  the  mis- 
sion resumed  their  old  peaceful  course,  until,  in 
1844,  an  epidemic  of  smallpox  broke  out  and 
caused  the  death  of  the  greater  proportion  of 
the  Indians.  In  1845  the  mission  estate,  except- 
ing the  church  buildings,  was  sold  to  John 
Temple  by  Governor  Pico  for  a  paltry  sum,  and 
its  old  time  glories  were  soon  a  thing  of  the 

110 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


past.  Its  ruins  still  stand,  interesting  and  pictur- 
esque, but  a  silent  and  melancholy  reminder  of 
its  former  prosperous  days. 

Rincon  Point  (corner  point)  is  one  of  the 
many  points  of  land  running  out  from  the  Santa 
Barbara  Coast. 

Point  Sal  was  named  for  Hermenegildo  Sal, 
who  was  one  of  the  prominent  figures  in  the 
early  history  of  Southern  California.  He  was  a 
Spanish  soldier  who  came  to  this  coast  in  1776 
with  Anza  and  his  party  of  colonists.  Sal  filled 
many  important  military  offices.  This  point  was 
named  by  Vancouver  for  this  official,  who  was 
at  one  time  commandante  of  the  presidio  of  San 
Francisco,  in  return  for  signal  courtesies  shown 
by  him  in  1792,  when  he  permitted  Vancouver 
to  go  to  the  mission  of  Santa  Clara,  this  being 
the  first  occasion  when  this  part  of  Spanish 
America  was  penetrated  by  any  foreigner. 

Sal  Si  Puedes  (get  out  if  you  can).  Several 
places  in  the  state,  one  in  the  Santa  Cruz  Moun- 
tains, another  in  Santa  Barbara  County,  re- 
ceived this  name,  so  eloquent  of  the  rough  road 
that  the  Spaniards  sometimes  had  to  travel. 
Captain  Argiiello,  in  his  diary  of  the  expedition 
of  1821,  refers  to  his  struggles  in  getting  out  of  a 
certain  canyon  in  these  terms:  "On  account  of 
its  difficult  situation  it  was  named  Montana  de 

111 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Maltrato  y  Arroyo  de  Sal  si  Puedes"  (mountain 
of  ill-treatment  and  creek  of  get  out  if  you  can) . 
Santa  Inez  (St.  Agnes)  is  the  name  of  a  river 
in  Santa  Barbara  County  which  rises  in  the 
Coast  Range  and  flows  into  the  Pacific  Ocean 
about  ten  miles  north  of  Cape  Conception.  The 
town  of  the  same  name  is  situated  on  this  river. 
The  Mission  Santa  Inez  was  founded  September 
17,  1804,  by  Padres  Tapis,  Calzada  and  Gutier- 
rez. It  flourished  for  a  time,  but  was  greatly 
damaged  by  an  earthquake  in  1812,  was  rebuilt 
and  damaged  again  by  the  Indians  in  the  revolt 
of  1824,  and  its  partially  ruined  buildings  still 
remain  to  tell  of  a  vanished  past.  Its  patroness, 
St.  Agnes,  was  one  of  the  four  great  virgin  mar- 
tyrs of  the  Latin  Church.  She  was  a  Roman 
maiden  of  great  beauty,  and  was  condemned  to 
death  by  the  sword,  by  the  Prefect  Sempronius, 
in  revenge  for  her  refusal  to  marry  his  son,  on 
the  ground  that  she  was  "already  affianced  to  a 
husband  whom  she  loved,  meaning  Jesus."  Be- 
fore causing  her  death  Sempronius  attempted  to 
procure  her  dishonor  by  having  her  conveyed  to 
a  house  of  infamy,  "but  when  she  prayed  to 
Christ  that  she  might  not  be  dishonored,  she 
saw  before  her  a  shining  white  garment  which 
she  put  on  with  joy,  and  the  room  was  filled 
with  great  light." 

112 


THEIR  MEANING  AND   ROMANCE 


Santa  Maria  (SI.  Mary),  so  named  in  honor  of 
the  mother  of  Christ,  is  in  Santa  Barbara 
County,  near  the  Santa  Maria  River. 

Santa  Paula  (St.  Paula)  is  in  Ventura  County, 
thirty-five  miles  west  of  San  Fernando,  on  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad.  "St.  Paula  was  a 
noble  Roman  matron,  a  pupil  and  disciple  of  St. 
Jerome.  Though  descended  from  the  Scipios 
and  the  Gracchi,  and  accustomed  to  luxurious 
self-indulgence,  she  preferred  to  follow  her 
saintly  teacher  to  Bethlehem  and  devote  herself 
to  a  religious  life.  She  built  a  monastery,  a 
hospital,  and  three  nunneries  at  Bethlehem."- 
(Stories  of  the  Saints.) 

Serena  (serene),  a  place  on  the  shore  near 
Santa  Barbara,  whose  placid  charm  well  befits 
its  name.  Judging  by  its  form  this  name  must 
be  modern,  as  Spaniards  do  not  use  an  adjective 
standing  alone  as  a  place  name. 

Ventura  (fortune),  a  town  near  the  southeast- 
ern end  of  the  Santa  Barbara  channel. 


115 


THE  SAN  LUIS  OBISPO 
GROUP 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


VI 

THE  SAN  LUIS  OBISPO  GROUP 

San  Luis  Obispo  (St.  Louis  the  Bishop) .  Trav- 
elers on  the  Coast  Line,  whose  attention  is  at- 
tracted to  the  smiling  vale  where  the  pretty 
town  of  San  Lais  Obispo  nestles  in  the  hollow  of 
the  hills,  about  eight  miles  from  the  ocean  and 
ninety  to  the  northwest  of  Santa  Barbara,  will 
doubtless  be  pleased  to  learn  something  of  its 
history.  So  peaceful  is  the  aspect  of  the  valley 
at  this  time  that  it  comes  rather  as  a  surprise  to 
read,  in  the  diaries  of  the  Portola  expedition  of 
1769,  stories  of  fierce  fights  with  bears,  which 
then  haunted  this  place  in  such  numbers  that  the 
explorers  gave  it  the  name  of  La  Canada  de  los 
Osos  (the  glen  of  the  bears).  From  Father 
Crespi  we  get  some  account  of  the  numbers  and 
ferocity  of  these  animals :  "In  this  glen  we  saw 
troops  of  bears,  which  have  the  ground  ploughed 
up  and  full  of  scratches  which  they  make  in 
search  of  the  roots  that  form  their  food.  Upon 
these  roots,  of  which  there  are  many  of  a  good 
savor  and  taste,  the  gentiles  (unbaptized  In- 
dians) also  live.  The  soldiers,  who  went  out  to 
hunt,  succeeded  in  killing  one  bear  with  gun- 

119 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


shots,  and  experienced  the  ferocity  of  these  ani- 
mals. Upon  feeling  themselves  wounded  they 
attack  the  hunter  at  full  speed,  and  he  can  only 
escape  by  using  the  greatest  dexterity.  They  do 
not  yield  except  when  the  shot  succeeds  in 
reaching  the  head  or  heart.  The  one  that  the 
soldiers  killed  received  nine  balls  before  falling, 
and  did  not  fall  until  one  struck  him  in  the 
head." 

Captain  Pages,  of  the  same  expedition,  gives 
a  similar  account  "  ....  a  spacious  glen  with 
a  rivulet  of  very  good  water  ....  In  said  glen 
they  saw  whole  herds  of  bears,  which  have 
ploughed  up  all  the  ground,  where  they  dug  to 
seek  their  livelihood  from  the  roots  that  it  pro- 
duces. They  are  ferocious  brutes,  and  of  very 
difficult  hunting,  throwing  themselves  with  in- 
credible speed  and  anger  upon  the  hunter,  who 
only  escapes  by  means  of  a  swift  horse.  They 
do  not  yield  to  the  shot  unless  it  be  in  the  head 
or  heart." 

Miguel  Costanso,  of  the  same  party,  says: 
"In  the  afternoon,  as  they  had  seen  many  tracks 
of  bears,  six  soldiers  went  out  hunting  on  horse- 
back, and  succeeded  in  shooting  one  bear.  It 
was  an  enormous  animal;  it  measured  fourteen 
palms  from  the  sole  of  the  feet  to  the  top  of  its 
head;  its  feet  were  more  than  a  foot  long;  and 

120 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


it  must  have  weighed  over  375  pounds.  We  ate 
the  flesh  and  found  it  savory  and  good." 

At  a  later  date,  when  the  mission  at  Monterey 
was  in  serious  danger  of  a  famine,  Captain 
Pages  called  to  mind  the  experiences  in  the 
Canada  de  los  Osos,  and  headed  a  hunting  ex- 
pedition to  that  region  for  the  purpose  of  secur- 
ing a  supply  of  bear  meat.  The  party  succeeded 
in  killing  a  considerable  number  of  the  animals, 
and  were  thus  able  to  relieve  the  scarcity  at 
Monterey.  The  name  of  Los  Osos  (the  bears)  is 
still  applied  to  a  valley  in  the  vicinity  of  San 
Luis  Obispo. 

Finding  this  spot  highly  suitable  for  a  settle- 
ment, in  the  matters  of  climate,  arable  land,  and 
water,  points  always  carefully  considered  by 
the  padres,  the  mission  of  San  Luis  Obispo  de 
Tolosa  (St.  Louis  the  Bishop  of  Toulouse)  was 
established  by  Padre  Serra,  September  1,  1772, 
in  La  Canada  de  los  Osos.  In  the  usual  course  of 
events,  the  name  of  the  mission  was  extended  to 
the  town  and  finally  to  the  county. 

The  story  of  the  patron  saint  of  this  mission 
runs  as  follows :  "St.  Louis  of  Toulouse  was  the 
nephew  of  St.  Louis,  King  of  France,  and  son  of 
the  King  of  Naples  and  Sicily.  Like  his  kingly 
uncle-saint,  he  was  piously  reared  by  his  mother. 
When  he  was  but  fourteen,  his  father,  being 

121 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


made  prisoner  by  the  King  of  Aragon,  gave 
Louis  and  his  brother  as  hostages.  He  became 
wearied  of  everything  but  religion,  and  in  1294, 
when  he  was  made  free,  he  gave  all  his  royal 
rights  to  his  brother  Robert,  and  became  a  monk 
of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis.  He  was  then  twenty- 
two  years  old.  Soon  he  was  made  Bishop  of 
Toulouse;  and  he  set  out,  bare-footed  and 
clothed  as  a  friar,  to  take  his  new  office.  He 
went  into  Provence  on  a  charitable  mission,  and 
died  at  the  castle  of  Brignolles,  where  he  was 
born.  He  was  first  buried  at  Marseilles,  then 
removed  to  Valencia,  where  he  was  enshrined. 
His  pictures  represent  him  as  young,  beardless, 
and  of  gentle  face.  He  has  the  fleur-de-lis  em- 
broidered on  his  cope,  or  on  some  part  of  his 
dress.  The  crown  which  he  gave  away  lies  at 
his  feet,  while  he  wears  the  mitre  of  a  bishop." 
—(Stories  of  the  Saints.) 


SAN  MIGUEL 

San  Miguel  (St.  Michael),  situated  about  forty- 
seven  miles  northeast  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  is  the 
site  of  Mission  San  Miguel,  founded  July  25, 
1797,  by  Padres  Lasuen  and  Sitjar.  It  is  said 
that  "the  lands  of  this  mission  extended  from 

122 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


the  Tulares  on  the  east  to  the  sea  on  the  west, 
and  from  the  north  boundary  of  the  San  Luis 
Obispo  district  to  the  south  line  of  San  Antonio. 
It  had  its  work-shops  and  little  factories  where 
the  good  padres  taught  the  Indians  the  useful 
arts.  Its  property  was  confiscated  in  183B,  and 
sold  at  auction  in  1846." 

St.  Michael,  in  whose  honor  this  mission  was 
named,  "is  regarded  as  the  first  and  mightiest 
of  all  created  spirits.  He  it  was  whom  God  com- 
missioned to  expell  Satan  and  the  rebellious 
angels  from  Heaven.  His  office  now  is  believed 
to  be  two-fold,  including  that  of  patron  saint 
of  the  Church  on  earth,  and  Lord  of  the  souls 
of  the  dead;  presenting  the  good  to  God  and 
sending  the  evil  and  wicked  away  to  torment." 
In  pictures  St.  Michael  is  always  represented  as 
young  and  beautiful,  sometimes  as  the  Lord  of 
souls  in  pictures  of  death,  sometimes  in  armor 
as  the  conqueror  of  Satan. 


PASO  DE  ROBLES 

Paso  de  Robles  (pass  of  the  oaks),  known  far 
and  wide  for  its  hot  sulphur  springs,  where  the 
sick  of  many  lands  find  surcease  from  their 
pain,  is  situated  twenty-nine*  miles  north  of  San 

123 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Luis  Obispo.  It  was  named  for  the  reason  indi- 
cated by  Father  Crespi,  who  says:  "  ....  in 
a  valley  in  the  hollow  of  the  Santa  Lucia  Moun- 
tains, called  Los  Robles,  for  the  great  abundance 
of  these  trees  with  which  it  is  populated." 

It  should  be  explained  that  the  roble  is  not  the 
evergreen,  or  live-oak,  which  is  called  encino. 
At  Leland  Stanford  Jr.  University  the  names  of 
these  two  species  of  oaks  have  been  rather  poeti- 
cally used  for  the  students'  dormitories, — Encina 
Hall  for  the  men,  and  Roble  Hall  for  the  women. 


124 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


SUPPLEMENTARY  LIST 

Arroyo  Grande  (big  creek),  a  village  in  San 
Luis  Obispo  County,  fifteen  miles  southeast  of 
San  Luis  Obispo. 

Atascadero   (boggy  ground,  quagmire). 

A  venal  (a  field  sown  with  oats). 

Buchon  (big  craw)  is  the  name  of  the  point 
on  the  coast  directly  opposite  the  town  of  San 
Luis  Obispo,  and  has  a  significance  not  alto- 
gether agreeable.  The  Spanish  soldiers  called 
the  place  Buchon  from  an  Indian  in  the  neigh- 
borhood who  was  the  unfortunate  possessor  of 
an  enormous  goitre,  which  was  so  large  that  it 
hung  down  upon  his  breast. 

Canada  del  Osito  (glen  of  the  little  bear),  so 
called  because  some  Indians  from  the  mountains 
offered  the  Spaniards  a  present  of  a  bear  cub. 

Cayucos  is  the  name  of  a  village  in  San  Luis 
Obispo  County,  eighteen  miles  northwest  of  San 
Luis  Obispo.  The  word  cayuco  is  probably  In- 
dian in  origin,  and  is  used  in  different  senses  in 
different  parts  of  America.  In  Venezuela  it 
means  a  small  fishing  boat,  built  to  hold  one 
person,  while  in  Cuba  it  means  "head."  As  this 
place  is  on  the  shore,  it  was  probably  named  in 
reference  to  Indian  fishing  skiffs. 

127 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Cholame  (the  name  of  an  Indian  tribe). 

Cuesta  (hill,  mount,  ridge,  also  family  name) . 

Esteros  (estuaries,  creeks  into  which  the  tide 
flows  at  flood  time). 

Estero  Point  (estuary  point). 

Estrella  (star). 

Lopez  (a  surname). 

Morro  (headland,  bluff).  Morro  is  the  name 
of  a  hamlet  in  San  Luis  Obispo  County,  on  the 
shore,  twelve  miles  northwest  of  San  Luis 
Obispo. 

Nacimiento  (birth).  This  word  is  generally 
used  by  the  Spaniards  in  the  sense  of  the  birth 
of  Christ. 

Los  Osos  (the  bears).  • 

Piedras  Blancas  (white  stones,  or  rocks),  the 
name  of  a  point  on  the  coast. 

Pismo,  an  Indian  word  said  to  mean  "place  of 
fish,"  but  this  definition  is  not  based  upon  scien- 
tific authority. 

Pozo  (well,  or  pool)  is  the  name  of  a  village 
in  San  Luis  Obispo  County. 

San  Simeon  (St.  Simeon)  is  the  name  of  a 
village  in  San  Luis  Obispo  County,  on  the  shore 
twenty  miles  south  of  Jolon.  It  has  a  good  har- 
bor. St.  Simeon,  the  patron  saint  of  this  place, 
was  one  of  the  apostles,  and  is  called  "the 
Prophet"  because  he  was  the  translator  of  the 

128 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


book  of  Isaiah  in  which  is  made  the  prophecy, 
"Behold  a  virgin  shall  conceive." 

St.  Simeon  Stylites,  who  set  the  fashion  of  the 
pillar-hermits,  spent  almost  half  of  the  fifth 
century  on  the  summit  of  a  column  sixty  feet  in 
height,  drawing  up  his  meager  food  and  water 
in  a  pail  which  he  lowered  for  the  purpose.  This 
peculiar  and  apparently  senseless  mode  of  life 
has  been  partially  justified  by  the  reflection  that 
the  notoriety  he  thus  gained  brought  curious 
crowds  of  pagans  about  his  pillar,  to  whom  he 
was  enabled  to  preach  the  Christian  doctrine. 
It  is  said  that  he  converted  many  thousands  of 
the  nomadic  Saracen  tribes  to  Christianity. 

Santa  Lucia  (St.  Lucy)  is  the  name  of  a  sec- 
tion of  the  coast  range  of  mountains  in  the  cen- 
tral part  of  the  state.  St.  Lucy  is  the  protectress 
against  all  diseases  of  the  eye,  and  is  the  pa- 
troness of  the  laboring  poor. 

Santa  Margarita  (St.  Margaret)  is  the  name  of 
a  town  in  San  Luis  Obispo  County,  on  the  South- 
ern Pacific  Railroad.  St.  Margaret  is  the  pa- 
troness who  presides  over  births. 


129 


IN  THE 

INEIGHBORHOOD  OF 
MONTEREY 


THEIR     MEANING     AND      ROMANCE 


VII 
IN  THE  NEIGHBORHOOD  OF  MONTEREY 

Monterey.  "Llegamos  a.  este  puerto  de  Mon- 
terey a  16  de  Diciembre,  1602  a  las  siete  de  la 
noche"  (We  arrived  at  this  port  of  Monterey  on 
the  sixteenth  of  December,  1602,  at  seven  o'clock 
in  the  evening). — From  the  diary  of  Sebastian 
Vizcaino.) 

When  Vizcaino  sailed  into  the  beautiful  blue 
bay  of  Monterey,  and  looked  about  him  at  the 
ring  of  hills,  dark  with  the  dense  growth  of 
pines  covering  them  from  summit  to  base,  he 
became  at  once  enamored  with  the  place,  and 
wrote  enthusiastically  to  his  Spanish  Majesty 
concerning  it.  In  a  letter  of  the  date  of  May  23, 
1603,  he  says:  "Among  the  ports  of  most  im- 
portance which  I  found  was  one  in  latitude  37, 
which  I  named  Monterey.  As  I  wrote  to  your 
majesty  from  there  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  Sep- 
tember of  the  said  year,  it  is  all  that  can  be  de- 
sired for  the  convenience  and  seaport  of  the 
ships  of  the  Philippine  line,  whence  they  come 
to  explore  this  coast.  The  port  is  sheltered  from 
all  winds,  and  has  on  the  shore  many  pines  to 
supply  the  ships  with  masts  of  any  size  that  they 

133 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


may  wish,  and  also  live-oaks,  oaks,  rosemary, 
rock-roses,  roses  of  Alexandria,  good  hunting 
of  rabbits,  hares,  partridges  and  flying  birds  of 
different  sorts.  The  land  is  of  mild  temperature, 
and  of  good  waters,  and  very  fertile,  judging 
by  the  luxuriant  growth  of  the  trees  and  plants, 
for  I  saw  some  fruits  from  them,  particularly 
of  chestnuts  and  acorns,  larger  than  those  of 
Spain;  and  it  is  well-populated  with  people, 
whose  disposition  I  saw  to  be  soft,  gentle,  docile, 
and  very  fit  to  be  reduced  to  the  Holy  Church. 
Their  food  is  of  many  and  various  seeds  that 
they  have  and  also  wild  game,  such  as  deer, 
some  of  which  are  larger  than  cows,  also  bears, 
and  cattle  and  buffalo,  and  many  others.  The 
Indians  are  of  good  body,  white  of  countenance, 
and  the  women  somewhat  smaller,  and  well- 
favored.  Their  dress  is  of  the  people  of  the 
beach,  of  the  skins  of  seals,  of  which  there  are 
an  abundance,  which  they  tan  and  prepare  bet- 
ter than  in  Spain." 

At  first  thought  it  would  seem  that  Vizcaino 
must  have  been  in  error  about  finding  buffalo 
at  Monterey,  but  investigation  shows  that  in 
1530  those  animals  "ranged  through  what  is  now 
New  Mexico,  Utah,  Oregon,  Washington,  and 
British  Columbia." — (Handbook  of  American 
Indians.)  Oregon  is  not  so  far  away  but  that 

134 


c  2 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 

-^*» 


scattering  herds  may  have  wandered  as  far  as 
Monterey,  and  that  Vizcaino  actually  saw  them 
there.  It  has  been  suggested,  also,  that  he  may 
have  mistaken  the  tracks  of  the  great  elk  for 
those  of  buffalo.  In  calling  the  Indians  "white," 
he  was,  no  doubt,  speaking  comparatively.  Ac- 
cording to  the  diaries  of  the  Spaniards,  the 
natives  of  different  sections  varied  considerably 
in  complexion.  What  he  meant  by  "chestnuts" 
can  only  be  conjectured,  since  that  tree  is  not 
indigenous  to  Monterey,  but  it  is  possible  that 
the  nut  of  the  wild  buck-eye,  which  resembles 
the  chestnut  in  size  and  shape,  may  have  been 
mistaken  for  it  by  the  Spaniards. 

Vizcaino  named  the  port  in  honor  of  Gaspar 
de  Zuniga,  Count  of  Monterey,  at  that  time  Vice- 
roy of  Mexico.  The  word  itself,  whose  literal 
meaning  is  "the  King's  wood,"  or  "the  King's 
mountain,"  since  monte  may  be  used  in  either 
sense,  was  formerly  spelled  Monterrey,  Mon- 
terey, or  Monte  Rey. 

When  Father  Serra  arrived  at  Monterey  in 
1770,  he  decided  to  make  it  the  headquarters  of 
all  the  California  missions,  and  it  was  here  that 
the  rest  of  his  life  was  spent,  excepting  the 
periods  of  absence  required  in  visiting  the  other 
missions,  and  in  one  visit  to  Mexico.  Very 
shortly  after  the  landing  of  the  party  in  a  little 

137 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


cove  at  the  edge  of  the  present  town,  it  was  de- 
cided that  not  enough  arable  land  existed  at 
that  point  for  the  support  of  the  mission,  so  the 
religious  establishment  was  removed  to  Carmel 
Bay,  while  the  Presidio  and  its  chapel  remained 
at  Monterey. 

The  Mission  San  Carlos  Borromeo  (St.  Charles 
Borromeo)  was  founded  June  3,  1770,  at  Mon- 
terey, and  in  the  following  year  was  removed  to 
the  banks  of  the  Carmelo  River.  This  church, 
now  in  an  excellent  state  of  repair,  through  the 
efforts  of  the  late  Father  Angelo  Casanova,  is 
distinguished  above  all  the  others,  "for  under 
its  altar  lies  buried  all  that  is  mortal  of  the  re- 
mains of  its  venerable  founder,  Junipero  Serra." 

Its  patron  saint,  St.  Charles  Borromeo,  be- 
longed to  a  noble  family  of  Lombardy.  Being 
a  second  son,  he  was  dedicated  to  the  church  at 
a  very  early  age,  and  soon  rose  to  distinction, 
receiving  the  cardinal's  hat  at  twenty-three.  The 
death  of  his  elder  brother  placed  the  family 
fortune  at  his  disposal,  but  he  gave  it  all  in 
charity,  reserving  for  himself  merely  enough  for 
bread  and  water,  and  straw  on  which  to  sleep. 
In  public  he  gave  feasts,  but  never  partook  of 
them  himself.  At  the  time  of  the  plague  in 
Milan,  when  all  others  fled  from  the  city,  he 
remained  to  attend  the  sick.  His  remains  repose 
in  a  rich  shrine  in  that  city. 

138 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


Visitors  to  Monterey  often  confuse  the  parish 
church  in  the  town  with  the  Old  Mission,  which 
is  situated  some  miles  to  the  south  in  the  valley 
of  the  Carmel  River.  The  one  in  the  town,  San 
Carlos  de  Monterey,  was  built  and  conducted 
by  the  fathers  for  the  benefit  of  the  soldiers  of 
the  presidio,  while  the  one  in  the  valley,  San 
Carlos  de  Carmel,  was  the  Mission  for  the  In- 
dians. The  latter,  of  course,  is  the  veritable  Old 
Mission.  Both  churches  were  rebuilt  of  stone  at 
the  same  time,  the  work  beginning  in  1793  and 
occupying  some  years.  The  object  in  having  the 
two  churches  at  some  distance  from  each  other 
was  to  prevent  disturbances  between  the  sol- 
diers and  the  Indians.  The  church  in  the  town 
is  in  good  repair  and  is  still  in  use  for  regular 
services.  Most  of  the  relics  have  been  taken  to 
it  from  the  Old  Mission. 


SAN  ANTONIO 

At  San  Antonio  (St.  Anthony),  in  Monterey 
County,  twenty  miles  from  Kings  City,  Father 
Serra  established  the  mission  of  San  Antonio  de 
Padua,  July  14,  1771.  In  connection  with  its 
establishment,  Palou  tells  a  story  that  brings  out 
one  of  the  most  marked  characteristics  of  the 

141 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


venerable  founder,  —  his  ardent  enthusiasm: 
"They  [the  founding  party]  departed  for  the 
Santa  Lucia  Mountains,  taking  priests  for  the 
new  mission,  the  required  escort  of  soldiers,  and 
all  necessaries.  Twenty-five  leagues  south-south- 
east from  Monterey,  they  arrived  at  the  hollow 
of  this  ridge,  where  they  found  a  great  Canada, 
which  they  called  Robles  (oaks),  from  the  great 
number  of  those  trees.  Finding  a  level  plain  in 
the  same  Canada,  bordering  on  a  river  which 
they  called  San  Antonio,  and  which  they  thought 
to  be  a  good  site,  for  the  good  flow  of  water, 
even  in  the  dry  month  of  July,  which  could  be 
conducted  to  the  lands  without  difficulty,  all 
agreed  upon  the  choice  of  this  spot.  Serra  or- 
dered the  mules  to  be  unloaded,  and  the  bells  to 
be  hung  up  on  the  branch  of  a  tree.  As  soon  as 
they  were  hung  up,  he  began  to  ring  them,  cry- 
ing out,  'Ho!  Gentiles,  come,  come  to  the  Holy 
Church,  come  to  receive  the  faith  of  Jesus 
Christ !'  "  One  of  the  other  priests  remonstrated 
with  him,  saying  it  was  idle  to  ring  the  bells  in 
the  absence  of  the  gentiles,  but  Serra  said,  "Let 
me  ring,  let  me  relieve  my  heart,  so  that  all  the 
wild  people  in  this  mountain  range  may  hear!" 
It  happened  that  some  natives  were  attracted  by 
the  ringing  of  the  bells,  and  came  to  witness  the 
first  mass,  which  Serra  regarded  as  a  good 
augury. 

142 


*    o 


^  5 

S    o 
Q    c, 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


SI.  Anthony  of  Padua,  the  patron  of  this  place, 
was  a  Portuguese  by  birth,  who  entered  the 
Franciscan  Order.  He  went  as  a  missionary  to 
the  Moors,  but  was  compelled  by  illness  to  re- 
turn to  Europe,  where  he  had  great  success  in 
Italy  and  France  as  a  preacher.  Among  many 
miracles  accredited  to  him  is  the  one  thus  re- 
lated: "When  preaching  at  the  funeral  of  a 
very  rich  man,  St.  Anthony  denounced  his  love 
of  money,  and  exclaimed,  'His  heart  is  buried  in 
his  treasure  chest;  go  seek  it  there  and  you  will 
find  it.'  The  friends  of  the  man  broke  open  the 
chest,  and  to  their  surprise,  found  the  heart; 
they  then  examined  his  body  and  found  that  his 
heart  was  indeed  wanting." — (Stories  of  the 
Saints.) 

POINT  CYPRESS 

La  Punta  de  los  Cipreses  (Point  Cypress)  is 
the  home  of  those  wonderful  trees,  twisted  and 
gnarled  into  a  thousand  fantastic  shapes  by  their 
age-long  struggle  against  the  ocean  winds,  which 
furnish  yet  another  proof  of  the  part  played  by 
California  in  the  preservation  of  the  rare  and 
the  unique,  for  this  species  of  coniferous  tree  is 
said  to  be  confined  to  that  region,  not  occurring 
in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 

145 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


The  following  interesting  paragraph  on  these 
trees  is  quoted  from  The  Trees  of  California,  by 
Willis  Linn  Jepsen,  Asst.  Professor  of  Dendrol- 
ogy in  the  University  of  California :  "Cupressus 
Macrocarpa  is  limited  to  two  localities  on  the 
ocean  shore  at  the  mouth  of  the  Carmel  River 
near  Monterey.  The  Cypress  Point  grove  ex- 
tends along  the  cliffs  and  low  bluffs  from  Pes- 
cadero  Point  to  Cypress  Point,  a  distance  of 
two  miles,  reaching  inland  about  one-eighth  of 
a  mile.  The  Point  Lobos  grove  is  much  smaller. 
The  trees  are  scattered  over  the  summits  of  two 
headlands,  and  cling  to  the  edges  of  the  cliffs, 
where  on  account  of  the  erosive  action  of  the 
ocean,  they  are  occasionally  under-mined  and 
fall  into  the  sea.  Monterey  Cypress  is  most  in- 
teresting for  its  remarkably  restricted  natural 
range  and  the  exceedingly  picturesque  outlines 
characteristic  of  the  trees  growing  on  the  ocean 
shore.  As  a  result  of  their  struggle  with  violent 
storms  from  the  Pacific  Ocean  which  break  on 
the  unprotected  cliffs  and  headlands  of  Cypress 
Point  and  Point  Lobos,  they  present  a  variety  and 
singularity  of  form  which  is  obviously  connected 
with  their  exposed  habitat,  and  lends  a  never- 
failing  interest  to  these  two  narrow  localities. 
Of  the  highly  picturesque  trees,  the  most  com- 
mon type  is  that  with  long  irregular  arms.  Such 

146 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


trees  recall  most  strikingly  the  classical  pictures 
of  the  Cedars  of  Lebanon.  Monterey  Cypress  is 
of  course  a  genuine  cypress  and  Lebanon  Cedar 
a  genuine  cedar;  the  two  do  not  even  belong  to 
the  same  family  of  conifers.  Yet  the  popular 
story  that  the  two  are  the  same  makes  so  strong 
an  appeal  to  the  imagination  of  the  tourist  at 
Monterey  that  the  guides  and  promoters  in  the 
region  will  doubtless  never  cease  to  disseminate 
it.  As  a  consequence  the  error  goes  into  the 
daily  press  and  the  magazines,  and  is  evidently 
destined  to  flourish  in  perennial  greenness  under 
the  guise  of  fact.  The  wide  dissemination  of  this 
fiction  is  all  the  more  remarkable  in  that  in  the 
case  of  all  other  unique  features  of  the  state, 
such  as  the  Sequoias  and  the  Yosemite,  our  Cali- 
fornians  have  evinced  a  remarkable  pride  in 
their  possession,  without  thought  of  inventing  a 

duplication    of    them    elsewhere The 

matter  of  the  age  of  these  trees  has  been  much 
exaggerated.  It  is  a  tree  of  rapid  growth,  and 
the  older  specimens  are  probably  not  more  than 
200  or  300  years  old." 

The  above  paragraph,  quoted  from  a  writer 
acknowledged  to  be  one  of  the  best  authorities 
on  the  trees  of  California,  is  given  here  in  full, 
in  the  hope  of  correcting  these  two  common 
errors  concerning  the  Monterey  Cypress, — the 

147 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


one  that  it  is  identical  with  the  Cedar  of  Leba- 
non, the  other,  an  exaggerated  notion  of  the 
great  age  of  some  of  the  trees.  As  Professor 
Jepsen  justly  remarks,  the  truth  in  this  case  is 
a  greater  matter  for  pride  than  the  fiction. 

POINT  PINOS 

La  Punta  de  Pinos  (the  point  of  pines)  is  situ- 
ated a  few  miles  from  Monterey,  just  beyond 
Pacific  Grove.  It  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque 
points  on  the  coast,  and  is  the  location  of  one  of 
the  government  light-houses. 

SALINAS 

When  the  Portola  expedition  of  1769  arrived 
at  the  Salinas  River,  they  made  the  first  of  the 
series  of  errors  which  caused  them  to  pass  by 
the  bay  of  Monterey  without  recognizing  it,  for 
they  mistook  this  stream  for  the  Carmel.  The 
Salinas  (salt  marshes),  so  called  for  the  chain 
of  salt-water  ponds  lying  along  its  course,  was 
known  by  various  names  before  a  permanent 
one  became  attached  to  it,  appearing  at  differ- 
ent times  as  El  Rio  Elzeario,  Santa  Delfina,  and 
El  Rio  de  Monterey. 

148 


ON  THE  SHORE  NEAR  LA  PUNTA  DE  LOS  CIPRESES 

"The  home  of  those  wonderful  trees,  twisted  into  a  thousand 

fantastic  shapes  by  their  age-long  struggle 

with  the  ocean  winds." 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


The  town  of  Salinas  is  the  county  seat  of 
Monterey  County  and  is  situated  about  eighteen 
miles  east  of  Monterey,  in  the  heart  of  an  im- 
portant agricultural,  dairying,  and  sugar-beet 
district. 


SOLEDAD 

Soledad  (solitude),  in  Monterey  County,  143 
miles  southeast  of  San  Francisco,  is  described  as 
"a  very  dry  plain,  with  few  trees,  swept  by  fierce 
winds  and  dust  storms  in  summer."  No  wonder 
they  called  it  Soledad, — Lonesometown ! 

Yet  those  same  dry  plains  proved  to  be  of 
sufficient  fertility  to  warrant  the  establishment, 
in  1791,  of  the  mission  of  Nuestra  Sefiora  de  la 
Soledad,  freely  translated  as  "Our  Lady  of  Sor- 
rows," which  became  the  center  of  a  large  and 
prosperous  Indian  community.  The  buildings  of 
the  mission  have  now  fallen  into  almost  com- 
plete decay. 

In  the  diary  of  Father  Font,  companion  of 
Captain  Ansa  in  his  second  expedition  to  Cali- 
fornia, in  1776,  this  mention  of  the  origin  of  the 
name  of  Soledad  occurs:  "At  the  end  of  about 
six  leagues  is  the  place  called  La  Soledad,  which 
they  told  me  was  so  called  because  in  the  first 

151 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


expedition  under  Portola  they  asked  an  Indian 
what  its  name  was  and  he  replied  'Solcdad',  or 
something  that  sounded  like  that." 


PAJARO 

Pdjaro  (bird),  a  town  in  Monterey  County,  on 
the  Pajaro  River,  which  rises  on  the  slope  of  the 
Coast  Range,  and  flows  westerly,  falling  into 
Monterey  Bay,  derives  its  name  from  a  circum- 
stance told  in  the  diary  of  the  faithful  Father 
Crespi :  "We  saw  in  this  place  a  bird,  which  the 
gentiles  (unbaptized  Indians)  had  killed  and 
stuffed  with  straw,  and  which  appeared  to  some 
[of  the  party]  to  be  a  royal  eagle;  it  was  meas- 
ured from  tip  to  tip  of  the  wings,  and  was  found 
to  measure  eleven  palms  (nine  feet  and  three- 
inches)  for  which  reason  the  soldiers  called  the 
place  El  Rio  del  Pdjaro."  The  scream  of  the 
eagle  may  still  be  heard  in  the  more  remote 
parts  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains,  where  the 
great  birds  are  occasionally  seen  circling  far 
over  head,  or  perched  in  the  tops  of  the  tallest 
trees. 


152 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


SANTA  CRIZ 

Santa  Cruz  (holy  cross),  the  well-known  sea- 
side resort  lying  at  the  northern  hook  of  the 
great  curve  that  forms  Monterey  Bay,  was 
named  by  the  Portola  expedition,  as  thus  de- 
scribed by  Father  Crespi:  "We  camped  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river  [San  Lorenzo],  and  we 
had  a  great  deal  of  work  to  cut  down  trees  to 

open  a  little  passage  for  our  beasts Not 

far  from  the  river  we  saw  a  fertile  spot  where 
the  grass  was  not  burnt,  and  it  was  a  pleasure 
to  see  the  pasture  and  the  variety  of  herbs  and 
rose-bushes  of  Castile."  The  next  day  they 
moved  on  again,  and  the  diary  continues:  "After 
proceeding  about  five  hundred  steps,  we  passed 
a  large  stream  of  running  water,  which  has 
its  source  among  some  high  hills  and  passes 
through  some  great  table-lands  of  good  soil,  that 
may  easily  be  irrigated  by  the  waters  of  the  said 
creek.  This  creek  was  named  Santa  Cruz." 

A  mission  was  established  at  this  place  by 
Padres  Salazar  and  Lopez,  September  25,  1791, 
but  the  buildings  finally  fell  into  a  ruinous  con- 
dition, and  were  removed  to  give  place  to  the 
modern  church  which  now  stands  upon  the 
original  site. 

153 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


SAN  JUAN  BAUTISTA 

San  Juan  Bautista  (St.  John  the  Baptist)  has 
suffered  mutilation  by  the  dropping  of  its  last 
part,  and  usually  appears  as  San  Juan.  San  Juan 
is  a  small  town  in  San  Benito  County,  in  a  fertile 
valley  on  the  San  Benito  River,  forty-four  miles 
southeast  of  San  Jose.  At  this  place  the  mission 
of  San  Juan  Bautista  was  founded,  June  24, 1797. 
Although  this  mission  passed  through  some 
strenuous  experiences,  and  was  twice  attacked 
by  the  Indians,  and  somewhat  damaged  by  re- 
peated earthquakes  in  1800,  it  is  still  moderately 
well  preserved,  and  shelters  within  its  hallowed 
walls  a  large  and  interesting  collection  of  relics 
of  the  old  mission  days. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  LIST 

Agua  Amargosa  (bitter  water),  a  place  in  San 
Benito  County  now  known  by  its  English  trans- 
lation, "Bitter  Water,"  and  so  called  from  min- 
eral springs.  , 

Ano  Nuevo  (new  year)  is  the  name  of  a  prom- 
inent cape  running  out  from  the  shore  of  Santa 
Cruz  County,  where  one  of  the  coast  light-houses 

154 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


is  situated.  It  received  its  name  from  the  day  of 
its  discovery. 

Arroyo  Seco  (dry  creek).  The  Arroyo  Seco, 
rising  in  the  Santa  Lucia  Range  and  flowing 
northeasterly  into  the  Salinas  River,  is  probably 
the  most  remarkable  example  of  terrace  forma- 
tion to  be  found  among  the  streams  of  the  state. 

There  are  other  Arroyo  Secos  in  the  state,  one 
near  Los  Angeles  which  is  very  striking  in  its 
color  effects. 

Blanco  (white)  is  a  town  in  Monterey  County 
which  may  have  received  its  name  from  Thomas 
B.  Blanco,  a  pioneer  and  grantee  of  land  in  that 
county. 

Canada  Segundo  (second  canyon). 

Carmelo.  This  word,  although  not  Spanish  in 
origin,  being  derived  from  the  Hebrew  Kar-mel 
(a  garden  or  garden-land),  is  interesting  as  one 
of  the  oldest  names  bestowed  by  Spanish  ex- 
plorers in  California,  and  important  as  the  name 
of  the  river  on  whose  banks  stands  the  most 
famous  of  the  missions,  San  Carlos  Borromeo. 
The  river,  which  flows  through  a  valley  so  fer- 
tile and  lovely  that  its  name  of  "garden-land" 
well  befits  it,  was  named  by  Vizcaino  in  1602  in 
honor  of  the  Carmelite  friars  who  accompanied 
the  expedition  and  who  chanced  to  be  the  first 
to  observe  the  river.  The  paragraph  in  Viz- 

157 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


caino's  original  narrative  runs  as  follows:  "A 
river  of  very  good  water  but  little  depth,  whose 
banks  are  well  peopled  with  black  poplars,  very 
tall  and  smooth,  and  other  trees  of  Castile;  and 
which  descends  from  high  white  mountains.  It 
was  called  El  Rio  de  Carmelo,  because  the  friars 
of  this  order  discovered  it." 

Cerro  del  Venado  (hill  of  the  deer). 

Chualar  is  a  village  in  Monterey  County,  in 
the  Salinas  valley,  128  miles  southeast  of  San 
Francisco.  The  chual  is  a  wild  plant  of  Cali- 
fornia,— pig-weed  or  goose-foot, — and  chualar 
is  a  spot  abounding  in  chual  plants. 

Corral  (yard,  enclosed  place).  On  October  11, 
1769,  the  Portola  party  stopped  at  a  place  about 
a  league  from  the  Pajaro  River,  where  they  con- 
structed a  fence  between  a  lake  and  a  low  hill,  in 
order  to  ke.ep  the  animals  secure  at  night  with- 
out the  need  of  many  watchmen.  Palou,  in  his 
Life  of  Serra,  says :  "The  first  expedition  called 
this  place  the  Corral,  on  account  of  having  built 
there,  with  some  sticks  nailed  together,  a  pasture 
in  the  manner  of  a  yard,  in  order  to  keep  the 
animals  safe  at  night.  This  was  of  great  assist- 
ance, for  there  were  so  many  sick  that  there 
were  not  enough  [people]  to  guard  the  animals." 
In  different  parts  of  the  state  there  were  many 
Corrals  and  Corralitos  (little  yards) .  Sometimes 

158 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


the  enclosing  fence  was  made  of  stones,  when 
more  convenient,  and  the  enclosure  was  then 
called  Corral  de  Piedra  (stone  corral) ;  some- 
times a  barricade  of  earth  was  thrown  up,  and 
it  was  then  called  Corral  de  Tierra  (earth  cor- 
ral). Corral  de  Tierra  is  the  name  of  a  well- 
known  ranch  near  Monterey.  In  the  days  of  old, 
many  a  joyous  merienda  (picnic)  and  barbecue 
was  held  at  the  Corral  de  Tierra  Rancho.  Cor- 
ralitos  (little  corrals)  is  in  Santa  Cruz  County, 
fourteen  miles  east  of  Santa  Cruz. 

Gabildn,  also  spelled  Gavildn  (hawk),  is  the 
name  of  the  long  mountain  ridge,  a  branch  of 
the  Coast  Range,  which  extends  through  the 
counties  of  Monterey  and  San  Benito. 

Gonzales  (a  surname).  This  place  is  in  Mon- 
terey County,  in  the  Salinas  Valley,  seventeen 
miles  southeast  of  Salinas. 

Gorda  (fat,  thick). 

Las  Grullas  (the  cranes).  In  the  diaries  of  the 
Portola  expedition,  date  of  October  7,  1769,  we 
read :  "We  pitched  our  camp  between  some  low 
hills  near  a  pond,  where  we  saw  a  great  number 
of  cranes,  the  first  we  had  seen  on  this  journey." 
This  was  about  four  leagues  from  the  Pajaro 
River. 

Jolon,  a  word  of  doubtful  origin,  which  has 
been  variously  explained.  It  is  thought  by  some 

159 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


persons  to  be  a  corruption  of  Jalon,  a  proper 
name,  but  old  Spanish  residents  say  it  is  an 
Indian  word,  meaning  "valley  of  dead  oaks." 

Llanada  (a  plain,  level  ground) .  This  place  is 
in  San  Benito  County. 

Laureles  (laurels).  Los  Laureles  is  the  name 
of  a  ranch  near  Monterey.  The  wild  laurel  is  a 
shrub  common  to  many  parts  of  the  state. 

Lobos  (wolves),  generally  used  on  this  coast 
in  the  sense  of  lobo  marino  (sea-wolf,  or  seal). 
There  is  a  Punta  de  Lobos  (seal  point)  near 
Monterey  which  is  noted  for  the  bold  grandeur 
of  its  ocean  scenery,  as  well  as  for  its  seals. 

Loma  Prieta  (dark  hill)  is  the  name  of  a  peak 
in  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains.  Its  dark  form, 
shaped  like  a  truncated  cone,  stands  out  against 
the  sky  and  may  be  seen  from  a  long  distance. 

Moro  Co  jo  (literally  "lame  Moor")  is  the  name 
of  a  well-known  ranch  in  Monterey  County.  The 
Spaniards  were  in  the  habit  of  using  moro  to 
mean  anything  black,  and  in  this  case,  accord- 
ing to  old  residents,  the  ranch  was  named  for  a 
lame  black  horse  that  ran  wild  there. 

Natividad  (nativity  of  Christ)  is  the  name  of 
a  town  in  Monterey  County,  about  one  hundred 
miles  southeast  of  San  Francisco. 

Paicines  is  in  San  Benito  County.  This  is  a 
word  of  doubtful  origin,  and  many  theories  have 

160 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


been  advanced  to  account  for  it.  The  most 
probable  is  that  given  by  an  Indian  woman,  a 
resident  of  the  place,  who  says  it  was  the  name 
of  an  Indian  tribe.  The  word  is  also  sometimes 
spelled  Pajines.  See  Tres  Pinos. 

Panocha  is  in  San  Benito  County.  This  is  a 
word  applied  to  crude  sugar,  or  syrup,  some- 
what resembling  sorghum.  Probably  modern. 

Paraiso  Springs  (paradise  springs)  is  a  health 
resort  in  Monterey  County. 

Pleito  (quarrel,  argument,  lawsuit) .  This  place 
is  in  Monterey  County.  It  has  not  been  possible 
to  ascertain  the  application  of  its  name. 

Potrero  (pasture) .  There  were  many  potreros 
scattered  about  the  state. 

Paentes  (bridges).  This  place,  two  leagues 
from  the  San  Lorenzo  River,  was  reached  by  the 
Portola  party  October  18,  1769,  and  the  reason 
for  its  naming  is  explained  by  Miguel  Costanso : 
"These  canyons  contained  running  water  in  very 
deep  ditches,  over  which  it  was  necessary  to  lay 
bridges  of  logs,  covered  with  earth  and  bundles 
of  sticks,  so  that  the  pack  animals  could  cross. 
The  place  was  called  Las  Puentes." 

San  Benito  (St.  Benedict)  was  named  in  honor 
of  the  founder  of  the  great  order  of  Benedictines. 
San  Benito  Creek  was  named  in  1772  by  Father 
Crespi,  and  the  name  was  eventually  applied  to 

161 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


the  county.  The  town  of  San  Benito  is  on  the 
Salinas  River,  sixty  miles  southeast  of  Monterey. 
It  is  said  of  St.  Benedict  that  he  became  a  hermit 
at  the  age  of  fifteen  and  fled  to  the  wilderness, 
where  he  lived  on  bread  and  water.  While  there 
he  was  tempted  by  the  remembrance  of  a  beau- 
tiful woman  he  had  seen  in  Rome,  and  to  over- 
come his  wish  to  see  her  again  "he  flung  himself 
into  a  thicket  of  briers  and  thorns,  and  rolled 
himself  therein  until  he  was  torn  and  bleeding. 
At  the  monastery  of  Subiaco  they  show  roses, 
said  to  have  been  propagated  from  these  briers." 

San  Lucas  (St.  Luke)  is  in  Monterey  County, 
sixty  miles  southeast  of  Salinas.  St.  Luke  was 
the  disciple  of  Paul,  who  speaks  of  him  as 
"Luke,  the  beloved  physician,"  but  tradition  re- 
ports him  to  have  been  an  artist,  and  that  he 
always  carried  with  him  two  portraits,  one  of 
the  Saviour  and  the  other  of  Mary.  Doubtless 
for  this  reason  he  is  regarded  as  the  patron  of 
artists  and  academies  of  art. 

Sur  (south).  Point  Sur  (south  point),  on  the 
coast  south  of  Monterey,  is  a  bold  promontory 
where  a  light-house  was  placed  by  the  govern- 
ment, in  consequence  of  the  frequent  occurrence 
of  shipwrecks  there.  The  Sur  River  runs  through 
a  region  remarkable  for  the  wild  picturesque- 
ness  of  its  scenery,  and  for  the  strange  tales  told 
of  happenings  among  its  early  inhabitants. 

162 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


Toro  (bull)  is  the  name  of  a  ranch  near  Mon- 
terey, said  to  have  been  so  called  after  a  wild 
bull. 

Tres  Pinos  (three  pines),  a  place  in  San  Ben- 
ito  County,  one  hundred  miles  southeast  of  San 
Francisco.  Postmaster  Black,  of  Tres  Pinos, 
gives  us  the  following  history  of  the  naming  of 
this  place:  "The  name  was  originally  applied 
to  what  is  now  known  as  Paicines,  but  when  the 
railroad  came  to  this  place  they  appropriated 
the  name  of  Tres  Pinos,  hence  it  has  no  sig- 
nificance as  applied  to  this  town.  The  name  was 
given  the  stopping-place  now  known  as  Paicines 
because  of  three  pines  alleged  to  have  grown  on 
the  banks  of  the  Tres  Pinos  creek  near  that 
place.  Paicines,  then  Tres  Pinos,  was  the  scene 
of  the  Vasquez  raid  and  murders  in  the  early 
70's." 

Uvas  (grapes),  the  name  of  a  town  and  creek 
in  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains,  no  doubt  so  called 
from  the  abundance  of  wild  grapes  found  in  that 
locality. 


103 


SANTA  CLARA 

b2 

VALLEY 


•~s~^~~Cyi —          V«»J 

r*^/^'^*°/       ~"V'^*X"*'\ 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


VIII 

THE  SANTA  CLARA  VALLEY 

Santa  Clara.  When  the  Spaniards  passed 
through  this  valley,  they  were  not  slow  to  recog- 
nize in  it  one  of  those  favored  spots  on  the 
earth's  surface  where  climate  and  soil  unite  to 
produce  the  highest  results.  So  here  they 
founded  two  missions,  one  at  Santa  Clara,  and 
one  at  San  Jose.  Santa  Clara  County  was  named 
by  the  first  legislature  of  California,  which  first 
thought  of  calling  it  San  Jose  County,  but  finally 
decided  to  name  it  for  the  mission. 

Santa  Clara  (St.  Clara)  stands  in  one  of  the 
most  fertile  valleys  in  California,  which  is  equiv- 
alent to  saying  in  the  whole  world,  and  is  about 
forty-six  miles  south-southeast  of  San  Francisco. 
The  mission  was  founded  by  Padres  Pena  and 
Murguia,  January  12,  1777.  The  buildings  now 
standing  are  mainly  modern,  but  a  small  portion 
of  the  original  structure  being  incorporated  in 
them.  The  ceiling  over  the  sanctuary  is  original, 
and  a  small  part  of  the  adobe  buildings. 

Clara  de  Asis,  the  sweet  saint  for  whom  this 
mission  was  named,  was  the  daughter  of  a 
nobleman.  Her  beauty  and  wealth  brought  her 

167 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


many  offers  of  marriage,  all  of  which  she  re- 
fused, preferring  to  devote  herself  to  a  religious 
life.  She  became  the  founder  of  the  order  of 
Franciscan  nuns,  known  as  the  "Poor  Clares," 
to  which  many  noble  ladies  attached  themselves. 
After  reaching  the  ripe  age  of  sixty  years  Saint 
Clara's  health  began  rapidly  to  decline,  and. she 
died  in  an  ecstatic  trance,  believing  herself 
called  to  Heaven  by  angelic  voices.  Her  special 
symbol  is  the  lily,  peculiarly  appropriate  for  the 
patroness  of  the  ever-blooming  Santa  Clara 
Valley. 

SAN  JOSE 

San  Jose  (St.  Joseph)  enjoys  the  distinction  of 
having  been  the  first  white  colony  planted  in 
the  state  by  the  Spaniards,  although  when  we 
read  the  complaints  of  the  padres  concerning 
the  highly  undesirable  character  of  its  first 
settlers,  recruited  mainly  from  the  criminal 
classes  of  Sonora,  the  distinction  would  seem  to 
be  of  rather  a  doubtful  sort. 

Spurred  on  by  the  old  bogie  of  their  fear  of 
foreign  invasion,  the  Spanish  government  de- 
cided to  establish  colonies  of  white  settlers,  be- 
lieving that  their  hold  upon  the  country  would 
be  rendered  more  secure  by  this  means.  The 

168 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


pueblo  of  San  Jose  de  Guadalupe,  founded  No- 
vember 29,  1777,  by  Lieutenant  Jose  Moraga, 
then  in  command  at  San  Francisco,  under  orders 
from  Governor  Neve,  was  originally  located  on 
a  site  about  a  mile  and  a  quarter  distant  from 
the  present  city,  but  was  removed  in  1797,  in 
consequence  of  the  discovery  that  the  low-lying 
ground  of  its  first  location  was  often  submerged 
during  the  winter  rains.  The  people  of  the 
pueblo  were  compelled  to  travel  a  distance  of 
three  miles  to  attend  mass  at  the  Santa  Clara 
Mission,  and  in  order  to  make  this  journey  more 
agreeable,  Father  Maguin  de  Catala  laid  out  the 
alameda  between  the  two  places,  planting  a  fine 
avenue  of  willow  trees  which  once  comforted 
the  wayfarer  with  their  grateful  shade.  The 
original  trees  have  now  practically  all  disap- 
peared and  others  have  taken  their  places  in 
part.  The  old  alameda  has  vanished. 

Not  until  1797  was  the  mission  of  San  Jose 
founded,  on  a  spot  some  fourteen  miles  distant 
from  the  pueblo.  The  padres  had  no  keen  desire 
to  place  the  missions  in  close  proximity  to  the 
pueblos,  fearing  the  evil  influence  on  the  Indians 
of  a  bad  class  of  white  men,  besides  other  in- 
evitable complications,  such  as  the  mixing  up 
of  cattle.  Father  Engelhardt,  in  his  History  of 
the  California  Missions,  tells  the  story  of  the 

171 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


founding  of  the  Mission  San  Jose  thus:  "Here, 
on  Trinity  Sunday,  June  11, 1797,  Father  Lasuen 
raised  and  blessed  the  cross.  In  a  shelter  of 
boughs  he  celebrated  Holy  Mass,  and  thus  dedi- 
cated the  mission  in  honor  of  the  foster-father 
of  Christ,  St.  Joseph." 

The  old  church  was  unfortunately  so  shat- 
tered by  an  earthquake  in  1868  that  it  was  torn 
down  and  replaced  by  a  wooden  edifice. 

It  should  be  made  clear  that  two  missions 
were  established  here,  Santa  Clara  and  San 
Jose,  and  that  the  latter  was  not  at  San  Jose,  as 
some  maps  represent  it,  but  some  fourteen  miles 
distant  from  the  town. 


PALO  ALTO 

Palo  Alto  (high  stick,  or  tree),  in  Santa  Clara 
County,  sixteen  miles  northwest  of  San  Jose, 
once  a  stock  farm  where  blooded  horses  were 
raised,  now  best  known  as  the  site  of  the  Leland 
Stanford  Junior  University,  is  said  to  have  re- 
ceived its  name  from  a  tall  redwood  tree  on  the 
San  Francisquito  (little  St.  Francis)  creek.  This 
tree  stands  just  a  few  feet  from  the  railroad 
bridge  near  Palo  Alto  station,  and  is  said  by  old 
residents  to  have  originally  been  in  the  form  of 

172 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


a  twin  tree,  one  of  the  twins  having  been  cut 
down.  The  trees  of  this  species  received  the 
name  Palo  Colorado  (red  stick,  or  tree)  from  the 
Portola  party,  whose  attention  was  attracted  by 
their  uncommon  size  and  the  peculiar  reddish 
color  of  the  wood,  and  the  honor  of  their  dis- 
covery may  justly  be  awarded  to  Gaspar  de 
Portola,  since  he  seems  to  have  been  the  first 
white  man  to  make  report  of  having  seen  them. 
This  place  was  named  by  the  Anza  expedition 
of  1775-1776,  and  it  seems  rather  strange  that  no 
mention  is  made  in  the  diaries  of  the  fact  that 
the  tree  was  a  twin.  Father  Pedro  Font,  who 
accompanied  the  expedition,  says:  "From  a 
slight  eminence  I  here  observed  the  lay  of  the 
port  from  this  point  and  saw  that  its  extremity 
lay  to  the  east-southeast.  I  also  noticed  that  a 
very  high  spruce  tree,  which  is  to  be  seen  at  a 
great  distance,  rising  up  like  a  great  tower,  from 
the  Llano  de  los  Robles, — it  stands  on  the  banks 
of  the  Arroyo  de  San  Francisco;  later  on  I  meas- 
ured its  height — lay  to  the  southeast."  Further 
on  in  the  diary  he  says:  "Beside  this  stream  is 
the  redwood  tree  I  spoke  of  yesterday:  I  meas- 
ured its  height  with  the  graphometer  which  they 
lent'me  at  the  mission  of  San  Carlos,  and  accord- 
ing to  my  reckoning,  found  it  to  be  some  fifty 
yards  high,  more  or  less;  the  trunk  was  five 

173 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


yards  and  a  half  in  circumference  at  the  base, 
and  the  soldiers  said  that  there  were  still  larger 
ones  in  the  mountains."  This  description  of 
Father  Font's  gives  rise  to  a  strong  suspicion 
that  the  tree  now  so  highly  venerated  is  not  the 
original  Palo  Alto  from  which  the  place  takes 
its  name.  The  name  was  first  applied  to  a  land 
grant. 

LA  SALUD 

La  Salud  (health).  In  the  name  of  this  place, 
not  far  from  the  San  Lorenzo  River,  reached  by 
the  Portola  party  on  October  22,  there  is  a  refer- 
ence to  one  of  the  heaviest  of  the  afflictions  from 
which  the  Spaniards  suffered  during  their  jour- 
ney up  the  state, — serious  sickness  and  many 
deaths  from  scurvy.  To  their  great  surprise, 
after  a  wetting  received  during  a  heavy  storm 
at  this  place,  all  the  sick  began  to  recover.  Cos- 
tanso,  in  his  diary,  date  of  October  22,  says: 
"The  day  dawned  overcast  and  gloomy.  The 
men  were  wet.  What  excited  our  wonder  was 
that  all  the  sick,  for  whom  we  greatly  feared 
that  the  wetting  might  prove  harmful,  suddenly 
found  their  pains  very  much  relieved.  This  was 
the  reason  for  giving  the  canyon  the  name  of 
La  Salud." 

174 


THE  PALO  COLORADO    (REDWOOD  TREE) 
'First  observed  and  named  by  Gasper  de  Portola" 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


LOS  GATOS 

I 

Los  Gatos  (the  cats)  is  the  rather  unpoetic 
name  of  a  very  pretty  town  in  Santa  Clara 
County,  ten  miles  southwest  of  San  Jose.  From 
its  location  at  the  mouth  of  a  canyon  in  the 
Santa  Cruz  Mountains,  the  inference  may  be 
drawn  that  it  was  named  in  reference  to  the 
wild-cats  which  even  at  this  day  infest  that 
region.  John  Charles  Fremont,  in  his  Memoirs, 
says :  "The  valley  is  openly  wooded  with  groves 
of  oak,  free  from  under-brush,  and  after  the 
spring  rains  covered  with  grass.  On  the  west 
it  is  protected  from  the  chilling  influence  of  the 
northwest  winds  by  the  Cuesta  de  los  Gatos 
(wild-cat  ridge),  which  separates  it  from  the 
coast." 

"It  seems  to  have  been  known  as  early  as  1831 
as  La  Cuesta  de  los  Gatos.  That  there  were 
troublous  times  about  there  in  other  matters 
besides  wild-cats  is  evidenced  by  the  story  of  a 
lively  fight  that  took  place  in  1831  against  a  band 
of  Indians  under  a  chief  named  Yoscol.  This 
chief  was  eventually  captured  by  the  Santa 
Clara  authorities  and  beheaded,  his  head  being 
exposed  in  front  of  the  mission  as  a  warning  to 

177 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


others." — (W.  Drummond  Norie,  of  Los  Gatos.) 


SUPPLEMENTARY  LIST 

Almaden  (mine,  mineral),  a  word  of  Moorish 
origin.  New  Almaden,  in  Santa  Clara  County, 
where  there  is  a  quicksilver  mine,  is  named  after 
the  famous  Almaden  quicksilver  mines  of  Spain. 

Alviso  (a  surname).  Alviso  is  in  Santa  Clara 
County,  eight  miles  northwest  of  San  Jose,  and 
received  its  name  from  Ignacio  Alviso,  a  native 
of  Sonora,  born  in  1772,  who  was  a  member  of 
Anza's  party  of  colonists  in  1775-76.  He  was  the 
original  Alviso  of  California,  and  was  the 
grantee  of  Rincon  de  los  Esteros  Rancho. 

Arroyo  Hondo  (deep  creek). 

Coyote,  the  native  wolf  of  California.  Coyote 
is  an  Aztec  word,  originally  coyotl.  The  town  of 
this  name  is  situated  thirteen  miles  southeast  of 
San  Jose. 

Cupertino,  a  town  in  Santa  Clara  County, 
named  for  Saint  Joseph  of  Cupertino,  who  was 
born  in  1603  in  the  village  of  Cupertino  in  the 
kingdom  of  Naples.  This  saint  had  very  lowly 
beginnings,  for,  like  Him  of  whom  he  was  a 
devoted  follower,  he  first  saw  the  light  in  a 
stable.  In  his  youth  he  was  subject  to  ecstasies, 

178 


THEIR  MEANING  AND   ROMANCE 


and  the  children  ridiculed  him,  calling  him 
"open  mouth."  Although  he  had  but  little  edu- 
cation and  was  scarcely  able  to  read,  by  means 
of  supernatural  light  he  was  enabled  to  solve 
the  most  intricate  questions.  His  life  was  one 
long  succession  of  visions  and  ecstasies,  which 
were  sometimes  so  profound  that  he  could  not 
be  awakened  from  them  by  beating,  or  piercing 
his  flesh  with  needles,  or  burning  it  with  can- 
dles. He  was  once  brought  before  the  Inquisi- 
tion on  account  of  these  ecstasies,  being  re- 
garded as  one  possessed  of  the  devil,  but  he 
retained  his  calm  and  joyous  spirit. 

Las  Llagas  (the  wounds  or  stigmata  of  St. 
Francis), — in  reference  to  the  legend  that  St. 
Francis  was  supposed  to  have  received,  after  a 
fast  of  fifty  days,  the  miraculous  imprint  of  the 
wounds  of  the  Savior  in  his  hands,  feet  and  side. 
Las  Llagas  was  the  name  of  a  place  near  Gilroy, 
and  was  also  given  by  the  padres  tp  Alameda 
Creek. 

Madrono,  often  misspelled  madrone,  is  the 
name  given  by  the  Spaniards  to  a  very  beautiful 
tree  indigenous  to  California,  which  is  thus  de- 
scribed by  Fremont  in  his  Memoirs:  "Another 
remarkable  tree  of  these  woods  is  called  in  the 
language  of  the  country  Madrona.  It  is  a  beau- 
tiful evergreen,  with  large,  thick  and  glossy 

179 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


digitated  leaves;  the  trunk  and  branches  red- 
dish-colored, and  having  a  smooth  and  singu- 
larly naked  appearance,  as  if  the  bark  had  been 
stripped  off.  In  its  green  state  the  wood  is  brit- 
tle, very  heavy,  hard  and  close-grained;  it  is  said 
to  assume  a  red  color  when  dry,  sometimes 
variegated,  and  susceptible  of  a  high  polish. 
Some  measured  nearly  four  feet  in  diameter, 
and  were  about  sixty  feet  high." 

Milpitas.  This  word  is  one  of  the  puzzles 
among  California  names.  One  definition  given 
for  it  is  "little  gardens,"  from  "milpa,"  meaning 
a  corn  patch.  In  that  case  the  word  must  have 
been  brought  from  Mexico  by  the  missionaries, 
for  the  California  Indians  had  no  form  of  agri- 
culture. These  gardens  were  usually  placed  at 
a  considerable  distance  from  the  missions,  for, 
as  fences  were  unknown  in  those  days,  it  was 
necessary  to  plant  the  crops  beyond  the  range 
of  the  cattle.  For  instance,  the  gardens  of  San 
Antonio  Mission  were  located  miles  away,  at 
what  is  still  called  the  Milpitas  Reservation,  at 
the  foot  of  the  Santa  Lucia  Range.  This  did  not 
prevent  damage  by  wild  beasts,  however,  and  to 
save  the  grapes  when  they  were  ripe  from  the 
bears  it  was  the  custom  to  build  fires  around 
the  vineyards  at  night.  Even  so,  it  often  hap- 
pened that  some  hungry  old  grizzly,  bolder  than 

180 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


the  rest,  would  be  so  sorely  tempted  that  he 
would  break  through  the  circle  of  fire  and  feast 
to  his  heart's  content. 

Another  explanation  of  the  name  that  has 
been  suggested  is  that  it  is  a  compound  of  mil, 
thousand,  and  pitas,  agave  plant,  hence  mean- 
ing "a  thousand  agaves,"  but,  as  this  plant  has 
not  been  known  to  grow  in  that  locality,  the 
reason  for  such  a  name  does  not  seem  apparent, 
and  the  theory  takes  on  the  aspect  of  mere  con- 
jecture. 

Following  the  analogy  of  the  Milipitas  Reser- 
vation at  San  Antonio,  it  seems  probable  that 
the  Milpitas  of  Santa  Clara  was  so  called  because 
the  mission  gardens  were  located  there. 

Milpitas  is  the  name  of  a  village  in  Santa 
Clara  County,  which,  for  some  unexplained 
reason,  has  come  to  be  used  as  a  term  of  de- 
rision, "the  jumping-off  place  of  creation." 

San  Felipe  (St.  Philip)  is  the  name  of  a  village 
in  Santa  Clara  County.  There  were  four  saints 
of  this  name,  perhaps  the  most  distinguished 
being  St.  Philip  Neri,  a  Florentine,  born  in  1515. 
He  was  the  intimate  friend  of  St.  Charles  Bor- 
romeo,  patron  of  the  mission  at  Monterey,  and 
was  the  founder  of  the  order  of  the  Oratorians, 
"who  were  bound  by  no  vows,  and  were  not 
secluded  from  the  world,  but  went  about  reading 

181 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


and  praying  with  the  sick  and  needy,  founding 
and  visiting  hospitals  and  doing  various  chari- 
ties." Then  there  was  St.  Philip  of  Bethsaida, 
who,  going  to  Hieropolis,  "found  the  people  wor- 
shiping a  huge  serpent,  or  dragon,  which  they 
thought  to  be  a  personification  of  Mars.  Then 
Philip  took  pity  on  their  ignorance.  He  held  up 
the  cross  and  commanded  the  serpent  to  dis- 
appear. Immediately  it  glided  from  beneath  the 
altar,  and  as  it  moved  it  sent  forth  so  dreadful 
an  odor  that  many  died,  and  among  them  the 
son  of  the  King;  but  Philip  restored  him  to  life. 
Then  the  priests  of  the  serpent  were  so  wroth 
with  the  apostle  that  they  crucified  him,  and 
when  he  was  fastened  to  the  cross  they  stoned 
him." — (Stories  of  the  Saints.) 

San  Martin  (St.  Martin)  is  a  town  in  Santa 
Clara  County,  six  miles  north  of  Gilroy.  St. 
Martin  has  many  legends  connected  with  his 
history.  Before  he  became  a  Christian,  he  was  a 
soldier  and  was  noted  for  his  kindness  and  char- 
ity to  his  comrades.  "The  winter  of  332  was  so 
severely  cold  that  large  numbers  perished  in  the 
streets  of  Amiens,  where  the  regiment  of  St. 
Martin  was  quartered.  One  day  he  met  at  the 
gate  a  naked  man,  and  taking  pity  on  him,  he 
divided  his  cloak,  for  it  was  all  he  had,  and  gave 
half  to  the  beggar.  That  night  in  a  dream  Jesus 

182 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


stood  before  him,  and  on  his  shoulders  he  wore 
the  half  of  the  cloak  that  Martin  had  given  the 
beggar.  And  he  said  to  the  angels  who  attended 
him,  'Know  ye  who  hath  thus  arrayed  me?  My 
servant  Martin,  though  yet  unbaptized,  hath 
done  this.'  Then  Martin  was  immediately  bap- 
tized." Again  it  is  told  of  him  that  being  invited 
to  sup  with  the  emperor,  "the  cup  was  passed  to 
Martin,  before  his  Majesty  drank,  with  the  ex- 
pectation that  he  would  touch  it  to  his  lips,  as 
was  the  custom.  But  a  poor  priest  stood  behind 
Martin,  and  to  the  surprise  and  admiration  of 
all,  the  saint  presented  the  full  goblet  to  him, 
thus  signifying  that  a  servant  of  God  deserved 
more  honor,  however  humble  his  station,  than 
any  merely  earthly  potentate;  from  this  legend 
he  has  been  chosen  the  patron  of  all  innocent 
conviviality."- — (Stories  of  the  Saints.) 


183 


AROUND 
^  FRANCISCO  BAY 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


IX 


AROUND  SAN  FRANCISCO  BAY 

San  Francisco.  Many  persons,  misled  by  an 
incorrect  translation  of  a  certain  passage  in 
Palou's  Life  of  Serra,  have  ascribed  the  naming 
of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  (St.  Francis),  to  the 
Portola  expedition  of  1769,  but,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  outer  bay,  the  great  indentation  in  the 
coast  outside  of  the  Golden  Gate,  between  Point 
Reyes  and  Mussel  Point,  had  received  this  name 
many  years  before.  In  remonstrating  with  the 
Visitador  General  because  no  mission  had  been 
provided  for  St.  Francis  in  Upper  California, 
Serra  remarked,  "And  is  there  no  mission  for 
our  Father  St.  Francis?"  Senor  Galvez  replied, 
"Si  San  Francisco  quiere  mision,  que  haga  se 
halla  su  puerto  y  se  le  pondrd  (If  St.  Francis 
wants  a  mission,  let  him  cause  his  port  to  be 
found  and  one  will  be  placed  there  for  him)." 
By  "his  port"  Galvez  referred  to  a  port  already 
discovered  and  named,  but  which  had  been  lost 
sight  of  during  the  intervening  years,  and  which 
he  wished  to  have  re-discovered.  This  is  further 
carried  out  by  the  succeeding  statements  of 

187 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Palou,  in  which  he  says  that  after  failing  to 
recognize  the  port  of  Monterey,  "they  came  to 
the  port  of  St.  Francis,  our  father,  and  they  all 
knew  it  immediately  by  the  agreement  of  the 
descriptions  which  they  carried,"  referring  to 
descriptions  obtained  from  the  papers  of  the 
first  discoverers.  Father  Crespi,  who  accompan- 
ied the  expedition,  says:  "All  the  descriptions 
which  we  found  here  we  read  in  the  log-book  of 
the  pilot  Cabrera  Bueno,  in  order  to  form  a 
judgment  that  this  is  the  port  of  San  Francisco. 
To  make  it  all  clear,  the  Sefior  Commandante 
ordered  that  during  the  day  Sergeant  Ortega 
should  go  out  with  a  party  of  soldiers  to  ex- 
plore." Further  on  in  the  same  diary  we  read: 
"From  the  top  of  a  hill  we  made  out  the  great 
estuary,  or  arm  of  the  sea,  which  probably  has 
a  width  of  four  or  five  leagues."  This  is  un- 
doubtedly the  first  occasion  when  the  eye  of  a 
white  man  rested  upon  "the  great  arm  of  the 
sea,"  that  is,  the  inner  harbor  of  San  Francisco 
as  we  now  know  it. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  until  the  arrival 
of  Portola,  the  Spaniards  only  knew  this  part  of 
the  coast  from  the  sea  side,  having  no  knowl- 
edge of  that  great  inland  sea  known  to  us  as  the 
bay  of  San  Francisco.  When  the  Portola  party 
came  up  by  land  on  their  futile  search  for  Mon- 

188 


?.  3 

si 

u*   •-- 

H-t         O 
(J 

^     a 


» »      o> 
<?       09 

H 
P 

- 


5-9 


•<  v 

«  5 

tf  t^ 

H  2 


O    s 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


terey,  they  stopped  to  camp  at  a  point  near  San 
Pedro.  Two  parties  were  sent  out,  one  under 
Sergeant  Ortega  going  up  the  peninsula  till  they 
reached  the  Golden  Gate,  at  which  they  looked. 
The  other  was  a  deer  hunting  party  sent  over  the 
mountains  lying  between  San  Pedro  and  the  bay, 
who  climbed  Sweeny  Ridge  and  from  there  saw 
the  inner  bay.  Portola  did  not  accompany  either 
of  these  parties  and  hence  was  not  the  first  to 
see  the  bay.  In  fact,  he  was  awakened  in  the 
night  to  be  told  by  his  men  that  they  had  found 
a  great  arm  of  the  sea.  But  afterwards  Portola 
himself  made  two  trips  up  and  down  the  shore, 
going  as  far  as  San  Jose,  and  at  that  time  he 
saw  the  bay.  He  was,  therefore,  an  actual  eye- 
witness of  the  discovery,  and  though  he  was  not 
the  very  first  to  see  it,  as  the  leader  of  the  ex- 
pedition he  is  fully  entitled  to  be  called  its  dis- 
coverer. 

Palou  ascribed  the  failure  of  the  party  to  rec- 
ognize the  port  of  Monterey,  and  the  consequent 
continuance  of  their  journey  as  far  as  San  Fran- 
cisco, to  a  direct  interposition  of  the  divine  hand, 
so  that  Galvez's  promise  of  a  mission  for  St. 
Francis  might  be  carried  out. 

The  honor  of  the  christening  of  our  world- 
famous  bay  probably  belongs  to  Sebastian  Rod- 
riguez Cermenon,  a  Portuguese  navigator,  who 

191 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


was  commissioned  in  the  year  1595  by  Philip  II 
to  search  for  safe  harbors  along  the  coast  for 
vessels  in  the  Philippine  trade.  These  ships  us- 
ually shaped  their  return  course  so  as  to  touch 
first  at  about  the  latitude  of  Cape  Mendocino, 
making  a  knowledge  of  the  harbors  south  of 
that  point  a  matter  of  great  importance,  espe- 
cially in  stormy  weather.  Cermenon  had  the 
misfortune  to  lose  his  vessel,  the  San  Agustin, 
on  Point  Reyes,  and  was  compelled  to  make  his 
way  home,  with  great  peril  and  suffering,  in  a 
small  boat.  In  his  Derrotero  y  Relation  (Itiner- 
ary and  Narrative),  under  date  of  April  24,  1596, 
he  says:  "We  sighted  New  Spain  at  Cape  Men- 
docino on  November  4, 1595 We  left  the 

bay  and  port  of  San  Francisco,  which  is  called 
by  another  name,  a  large  bay,  in  38%  degrees, 
and  the  islets  [Farallones]  in  the  mouth  are  in 
38^/2  degrees,  the  distance  between  the  two 
points  of  the  bay  being  twenty-five  leagues."  It 
is  clear  from  this  description  that  he  referred  to 
that  great  indentation  in  the  coast  between  Point 
Reyes  and  one  of  the  points  to  the  south,  pos- 
sibly Mussel  Point,  and  that  he  gave  the  name 
of  San  Francisco  to  it,  displacing  some  other 
name  by  which  it  had  been  previously  known. 
At  any  rate,  if  this  is  not  the  origin,  it  is  likely 
to  remain  lost  in  the  mists  of  the  Pacific.  Ban- 

192 


THEIR  MEANING  AND   ROMANCE 


croft  says:  "There  can  be  little  doubt  that 
Cermcnon  named  the  port  of  his  disaster  San 
Francisco." 

An  absurd  theory  advanced  by  certain  per- 
sons that  the  name  was  derived  from  that  of  Sir 
Francis  Drake  is  wholly  unworthy  of  considera- 
tion. The  resemblance  between  the  two  names 
must  be  regarded  as  purely  a  coincidence,  and 
any  connection  between  "El  Pirata"  (the  pirate) 
Drake,  as  the  Spaniards  usually  called  him,  and 
the  name  of  the  gentle  St.  Francis  must  be  taken 
in  the  light  of  a  jest. 

Portola,  then,  although  he  was  indubitably 
the  discoverer  of  the  bay  as  we  know  it — the 
inner  harbor, — found  the  name  already  applied 
to  the  outer  ensenada  by  his  predecessor,  Cer- 
menon. 

It  is  held  by  quibblers  that  Portola  cannot  in 
all  fairness  be  considered  the  actual  discoverer 
of  the  bay,  since  it  is  most  probable  that  Lieu- 
tenant Ortega  or  perhaps  some  member  of  a 
hunting  party  which  was  sent  out  actually  laid 
physical  eyes  upon  it  first. 

A  parallel  might  be  drawn  between  the  case 
of  Portola  and  that  of  Columbus.  When  the 
famous  expedition  of  1492  drew  near  to  the 
shores  of  the  new  world,  it  was  not  the  great 
admiral,  but  a  common  sailor,  Rodrigo  de 

193 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Triana  by  name,  who  first  raised  the  thrilling 
cry  of  "land!  land!";  yet,  nevertheless,  the  world 
justly  awards  the  honor  and  glory  of  the  dis- 
covery to  Christopher  Columbus,  the  leader  and 
the  soul  of  the  party,  whose  splendid  imagina- 
tion and  unconquerable  resolution  made  it  pos- 
sible. 

Although  the  Portola  party  made  a  partial 
examination  at  this  time  of  the  shores  of  what 
they  called  the  "great  arm  of  the  sea,"  and  Cap- 
tain Pages  returned  for  further  explorations  in 
1770,  and  again  in  1772,  when  he  stood  on  the 
present  site  of  Berkeley  and  looked  out  through 
the  Golden  Gate,  the  mission  was  not  established 
until  1776.  Father  Palou  was  its  founder,  and 
he  states  in  his  Life  of  Serra  that  the  presidio 
was  established  with  solemn  religious  services, 
September  17,  1776,  on  the  day  of  the  "impres- 
sions of  the  stigmata  of  St.  Francis,"  but  on 
account  of  a  delay  in  receiving  orders,  the 
founding  of  the  mission  did  not  take  place  until 
October  8.  On  that  day  a  procession  was  held 
with  the  image  of  St.  Francis,  and  mass  was 
celebrated  by  Father  Palou  himself. 

So  they  prayed  and  sang  their  hymns,  in  the 
year  of  '76,  while  their  hearts  beat  high  with  the 
zeal  of  the  missionary,  and,  happily,  no  echo  of 
the  roll  of  drums  and  boom  of  minute  guns 

194 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


came  to  them  across  the  untrodden  miles  of 
mountain  and  plain,  of  forest  and  prairie,  that 
separated  them  from  the  alien  race  on  the  other 
rim  of  the  continent,  for  whom  they  were  all 
unconsciously  preparing  the  way  to  the  posses- 
sion of  a  great  principality. 

No  natives  were  present  at  this  mass,  for  the 
reason  that  in  the  month  of  August  they  had 
been  driven  on  their  tule  rafts  to  the  islands  of 
the  bay  and  the  opposite  shores,  by  their  ene- 
mies, the  Salsonas,  who  lived  about  seven 
leagues  to  the  southeast,  and  who  had  set  fire 
to  their  rancherias  and  killed  and  wounded 
many  of  their  people,  the  Spaniards  not  being 
able  to  prevent  it. 

The  first  settlement  was  three-fold,  including 
the  mission  of  San  Francisco  de  Asis,  on  the 
Laguna  de  los  Dolores  (the  lagoon  of  sorrows), 
the  presidio,  and  the  pueblo,  separated  from  one 
another  by  about  a  league.  The  Pueblo  was  at 
first  known  as  Yerba  Buena,  in  reference  to  the 
profuse  growth  of  that  vine  about  the  locality. 
The  change  of  the  name  is  ascribed  by  General 
Sherman,  in  his  Memoirs,  to  jealousy  of  the  town 
of  Benicia,  which  was  at  first  called  Francisca, 
in  honor  of  General  Vallejo's  wife,  and  was 
thought  to  bear  too  marked  a  resemblance  to 
the  name  of  the  great  patron,  San  Francisco. 

195 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


General  Vallejo  himself  states  that  the  change 
was  made  as  a  matter  of  convenience,  to  bring 
the  three  points  of  the  triangle,  church,  town, 
and  presidio,  all  under  one  name.  Whatever 
the  reason  for  the  change,  it  is  a  matter  of  con- 
gratulation that  it  occurred,  for  the  name  of  the 
venerable  saint  carries  a  dignity  more  commen- 
surate to  a  noble  city  than  the  poetic,  but  less 
impressive  Yerba  Buena. 

The  church  of  -San  Francisco  de  Asis,  popu- 
larly known  as  Mission  Dolores,  still  stands  in  a 
good  state  of  preservation,  having  almost  mir- 
aculously withstood  the  earthquake  and  fire  of 
1906,  which  laid  low  all  its  proud  modern  neigh- 
bors. Of  its  patron,  the  gentle  St.  Francis,  it  may 
be  said  that  he  was  the  son  of  a  rich  merchant, 
but  that  he  abandoned  his  riches,  adopted  vows 
of  poverty,  and  founded 'the  order  of  Francis- 
cans. "While  in  a  trance,  or  vision,  after  having 
fasted  for  fifty  days,  he  received  the  miraculous 
imprint  of  the  wounds  of  the  Savior  on  his 
hands,  feet,  and  side."  His  chief  attributes  were 
humility,  poverty,  and  love  for  animals.  In  pic- 
tures he  is  always  represented  as  accompanied 
by  a  pet  lamb. 


19G 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


THE  GOLDEN  GATE 

Although  this  name,  not  being  of  Spanish  or 
Indian  origin,  is  not  properly  included  in  these 
pages,  its  close  relationship  to  San  Francisco, 
and  its  position  as  the  gate-way  to  the  entire 
state,  will  not  permit  it  to  be  passed  by. 

In  view  of  the  comparatively  recent  origin  of 
the  name,  1844,  and  the  accessibility  of  the 
story,  it  seems  strange  indeed  that  any  writer 
should  have  advanced  the  theory  that  the 
Golden  Gate  received  its  name  from  Sir  Francis 
Drake,  yet  this  wholly  unfounded  explanation 
has  found  its  way  into  print.  In  the  first  place, 
it  has  been  pretty  thoroughly  established  by 
historians  that  Drake  never  saw  the  inner  har- 
bor, and  knew  nothing  of  the  narrow  strait  lead- 
ing to  it.  In  the  report  of  his  voyage,  written  by 
one  of  his  companions,  we  read :  "At  38  degrees 
toward  the  line,  it  pleased  God  to  send  us  into 
a  faire  and  good  harborow,  with  a  good  wind  to 
enter  the  same.  Our  General  called  this  country 
Nova  Albion,  and  that  for  two  causes; — the  one 
in  respect  of  the  white  bankes  and  cliffes,  which 
ly  toward  the  sea;  and  the  other  that  it  might 
have  some  affinity  with  our  country  in  name, 
which  sometime  was  so  called."  The  white  cliffs 

199 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


under  Point  Reyes  answer  so  well  to  this  de- 
scription that  there  can  be  little  doubt  that 
Drake's  anchorage  was  in  the  small  outer  bay 
under  that  point,  now  known  as  Drake's  Bay; 
to  say  nothing  of  the  fact  that  the  account  of  the 
voyage  has  no  word  concerning  the  great  land- 
locked harbor,  with  a  narrow  strait  as  its  only 
entrance,  a  circumstance  so  novel  that,  as  Ban- 
croft justly  observes,  Drake  could  not  have 
failed  to  mention  it  had  he  known  aught  of  it. 

All  discussion  of  the  name  Golden  Gate  is, 
moreover,  brought  to  an  end  by  the  fact  that  its 
real  author,  John  Charles  Fremont,  gives  a  cir- 
cumstantial account  of  it  in  his  Memoirs.  After 
an  elaborate  description  of  the  bay,  and  its  sur- 
roundings, he  says:  "Between  these  points  is 
the  strait — about  one  mile  broad  in  its  narrow- 
est part,  and  five  miles  long  from  the  sea  to  the 
bay.  To  this  gate  I  gave  the  name  of  Chryso- 
pylae,  or  Golden  Gate;  for  the  same  reasons  that 
the  harbor  of  Byzantium  (Constantinople  after- 
wards) was  called  Chrysoceras,  or  Golden  Horn. 
The  form  of  the  harbor  and  its  advantages  for 
commerce,  and  that  before  it  became  an  entre- 
pot of  eastern  commerce,  suggested  the  name  to 
the  Greek  founders  of  Byzantium.  The  form  of 
the  entrance  into  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  and 
its  advantages  for  commerce,  Asiatic  inclusive, 

200 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


suggested  to  me  the  name  which  I  gave  to  this 
entrance,  and  which  I  put  upon  the  map  that 
accompanied  a  geographical  memoir  addressed 
to  the  senate  of  the  United  States,  in  June, 
1848." 

Here  we  have,  told  in  the  somewhat  pedantic 
language  of  its  author,  the  true  story  of  the  first 
appearance  of  the  famous  name  Golden  Gate 
upon  the  map  of  the  world,  and  instead  of  its 
having  been  "named  by  Colonel  Fremont  be- 
cause of  the  brilliant  effect  of  the  setting  sun  on 
the  cliffs  and  hills,"  as  one  writer  has  fondly 
imagined,  or  from  any  idea  connected  with  the 
shining  metal,  which  still  lay  buried  deep  from 
the  sight  of  man  beneath  the  mountains  of  the 
land,  it  was  born  in  a  sordid  dream  of  com- 
merce. Yet,  for  so  wonderfully  apt  a  name, 
whatever  may  have  been  Fremont's  motive  in 
selecting  it,  we  owe  him  a  debt  of  gratitude. 

There  is  some  disposition  to  doubt  this  ex- 
planation of  the  name  Golden  Gate,  partly  on 
the  ground  of  a  distrust  of  Fremont's  trust- 
worthiness, and  partly  because  of  its  far-fetched 
nature.  As  to  the  latter  objection  it  should 
be  remembered  that  he  was  that  kind  of  man. 
He  was  possessed  of  a  certain  amount  of  erudi- 
tion which  he  was  fond  of  showing  off,  and  this 
labored  method  of  seeking  for  a  name  in  the 

201 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


old  Greek  was  quite  in  keeping  with  his  char- 
acter. As  to  his  reliability,  although  it  is  quite 
possible  that  he  colored  events  of  a  political 
character  to  suit  his  own  purposes,  in  ordinary 
matters  there  seems  to  be  no  reason  to  doubt 
his  statements.  At  all  events,  the  name  Golden 
Gate  does  in  fact  appear  upon  his  map  of  1848 
as  he  says. 

According  to  Dr.  Vallejo,  the  Golden  Gate 
was  called  by  the  Indians  Yulupa,  pronounced 
ee-oo-loo-pa,  which  means  "near  the  sea  plunge," 
that  is,  the  plunge  of  the  sun  into  the  sea,  and 
may  be  freely  translated  as  the  "Sunset  Strait." 
The  suffix  pa  is  said  by  Dr.  Vallejo  to  signify 
"near." — (Memoirs  of  the  Vallejos,  edited  by 
James  H.  Wilkins,  San  Francisco  Bulletin,  Jan- 
uary, 1914.) 

The  first  entrance  through  the  Golden  Gate 
by  a  white  man's  craft  of  which  history  has  any 
record  was  made  by  Captain  Juan  Manuel  de 
Ayala,  on  August  5, 1775,  in  the  ship  San  Carlos, 
alias  Toison  de  Oro.  It  is  a  romantic  circum- 
stance that  the  second  name  of  this  vessel  means 
Golden  Fleece.  (For  a  detailed  story  of  this 
highly  interesting  voyage  and  entrance  into  the 
harbor  of  San  Francisco,  see  the  Overland 
Monthly  for  December,  1916.) 

202 


, 

H  ^ 

Q  n 

J  <u 

O  6 

O  ^ 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


ALGATRAZ 

Alcatraz  (pelican),  the  fortress-like  island  in 
the  bay,  just  inside  the  channel,  performs  the 
triple  duty  of  a  fortified  military  post,  prison, 
and  light-house.  Although  but  1650  feet  in 
length,  it  rises  to  a  height  of  130  feet  above  the 
water,  and  in  the  shadowy  light  just  after  sunset, 
its  high,  rocky  walls,  topped  by  the  buildings  of 
the  fortifications  and  prison,  make  a  silhouette 
against  the  sky  strikingly  like  a  great  dread- 
naught,  standing  guard  at  the  harbor's  entrance. 

The  diary  and  chart  of  Captain  Ayala,  the 
first  to  enter  San  Francisco  Bay  from  the  sea, 
show  that  in  reality  he  gave  this  name,  in  1775, 
to  the  island  now  called  Yerba  Buena,  "because 
of  the  great  abundance  of  those  birds."  In  some 
way  not  now  known  it  was  later  applied  to  its 
present  location.  Alcatraz  properly  means  al- 
batross, but  is  used  in  Spanish-America  to  des- 
ignate the  pelican. 


ANGEL  ISLAND 

Angel  Island,  the  Americanization  of  La  Isla 
de  los  Angeles  (the  isle  of  the  angels),  belies  its 

205 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


name,  since  it  has  been  devoted  to  the  quite 
un-angelic  business  of  quarantine  station  of  San 
Francisco. 

Palou,  in  speaking  of  the  expedition  of  1775, 
says:  "They  moved  to  the  island  which  is  in 
front  of  the  mouth,  which  they  called  Nuestra 
Senora  de  los  Angeles  [Our  Lady  of  the  An- 
gels], on  which  they  found  good  anchorage, 
and  going  on  land,  they  found  plenty  of  wood 
and  water." 

A  story  has  found  its  way  into  print  that  the 
island  was  named  "from  a  miner  who  once  set- 
tled there,"  the  writer  probably  mixing  it  up 
with  the  name  of  Angel's  Camp,  in  the  Sierras. 
What  a  desecration  for  our  island,  with  its  ro- 
mantic name  of  "Our  Lady  of  the  Angels," 
piously  given  to  it  by  the  Spaniards  in  honor  of 
the  Virgin! 

The  island  was  in  fact  discovered  and  named 
in  August,  1775,  by  Captain  Juan  Manuel  de 
Ayala,  the  first  navigator  to  enter  San  Fran- 
cisco Bay  through  the  Gate.  On  August  27th  a 
thanksgiving  mass  was  celebrated  on  the  beach 
of  the  island  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Angels,  and, 
while  the  flag  of  Spain  was  waved,  nine  cheers 
were  given  for  the  King,  no  doubt  to  the  intense 
surprise  of  the  Indians  looking  on  from  the 
shore  of  the  mainland. 

206 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


YERBA  BUENA  ISLAND 

Yerba  Buena  (the  good  herb)  is  the  name  of  a 
dainty  little  vine  native  to  the  California  woods, 
which  has  an  agreeable  aromatic  odor,  and  was 
much  in  use  among  the  Spanish  as  a  medicinal 
herb,  and  to  add  a  pleasant  aroma  to  their  tea. 
Fremont,  who,  whatever  else  may  be  said  of 
him,  had  enough  poetry  in  his  soul  to  feel  an 
expansive  joy  over  the  plant  life  of  this  flowery 
land,  describes  it  as  follows:  "A  vine  with  a 
small  white  flower,  called  here  la  yerba  buena, 
which,  from  its  abundance,  gives  its  name  to  an 
island  and  town  in  the  bay,  was  today  very  fre- 
quent on  our  road,  sometimes  running  on  the 
ground,  or  climbing  the  trees."  It  is  said  that 
the  Hupa  Indians  were  in  the  habit  of  weaving 
the  tendrils  of  this  vine  in  their  hair  for  the 
sake  of  the  perfume. 

Some  talk  has  arisen  of  late  that  this  poetic 
and  historic  name  is  to  be  taken  away  from  our 
island.  Commuters,  when  you  pass  it  on  your 
daily  journey,  let  your  minds  carry  you  back  to 
the  day  when  the  delicate  tendrils  of  the  little 
vine  waved  on  the  island's  steep  slopes,  and  its 
sweet  scent  was  wafted  on  the  breeze  from  the 

207 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Golden  Gate,  and  do  not,  I  pray  you,  consent  to 
call  'it  Goat! 

MARE  ISLAND 

Mare  Island,  in  San  Pablo  Bay,  separated  from 
Vallejo  by  a  strait  one-half  mile  wide,  a  charm- 
ing spot  with  an  unpoetic  name, — is  another 
example  of  writers  attempting  to  make  diffi- 
culties where  none  exist,  and  so  they  would  have 
us  believe  that  the  name  of  this  isle  arose,  like 
Venus,  from  mare,  the  sea.  Apart  from  the  fact 
that  this  labored  method  of  naming  places,  by 
seeking  in  the  Latin,  was  quite  foreign  to  the 
custom  of  the  Spaniards,  it  happens  that  the 
true  story  in  this  case  is  at  hand,  and  can 
scarcely  be  doubted,  since  it  occurred  in  the  im- 
mediate family  of  Dr.  Vallejo,  who  tells  it  thus : 
"In  the  early  days,  the  only  ferry-boat  on  the 
waters  near  Vallejo  and  Benicia  was  a  rude  one, 
made  chiefly  of  oil  barrels  obtained  from  whal- 
ing ships,  and  propelled  by  sails.  These  barrels 
were  secured  together  by  beams  and  planking, 
and  it  was  divided  into  compartments  for  the 
accommodation  of  cattle,  to  the  transportation 
of  which  it  was  chiefly  devoted.  One  day,  while 
this  boat  was  coming  from  Martinez  to  Benicia, 
a  sudden  squall  overtook  it,  and  the  craft 

208 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


pitched  fearfully;  the  animals,  chiefly  horses, 
became  restive,  and  some  of  them  broke  through 
it.  The  boat  was  upset,  and  the  living  cargo 
thrown  into  the  bay.  Some  of  the  livestock  were 
drowned,  and  some  managed  to  reach  either 
shore  by  swimming.  One  of  the  horses,  an  old 
white  mare,  owned  and  much  prized  by  General 
Vallejo,  succeeded  in  effecting  a  landing  on  the 
island,  and  was  rescued  there  a  few  days  after 
by  the  General,  who  thereupon  called  the  place 
La  Isla  de  la  Yegua  (the  island  of  the  mare)." 

An  interesting  corroboration  of  this  story  is 
found  on  page  574  of  Fremont's  Memoirs,  where 
he  refers  to  the  island  as  La  Isla  de  la  Yegua. 

A  statue  of  a  white  horse  would  perpetuate  the 
history  of  this  isle  in  a  manner  both  appropriate 
and  beautiful,  in  the  same  way  that  upon  the 
heights  of  Angel  Island  a  colossal  figure  of  an 
angel,  or  of  the  Virgin,  and  upon  Alcatraz  a 
great  pelican  with  outspread  wings,  might  be 
placed  to  tell  their  stories.  In  the  old  world, 
many  legends  of  the  past  are  perpetuated  in  this 
way,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  the  equally  ro- 
mantic episodes  in  California's  history  should 
not  be  so  commemorated,  at  least  in  those  cases 
that  lend  themselves  readily  to  purposes  of  art. 

This  island  was  discovered  by  Captain  Ayala, 
who  explored  the  bay  in  1775,  and  was  called 
by  him  Isla  Plana  (flat  island) . 

209 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


ALAMEDA 

It  has  been  thought  that  this  name  may  have 
been  derived  from  the  resemblance  between 
Alameda  creek,  at  one  time  thickly  shaded  along 
its  banks  by  willows  and  silver-barked  syca- 
mores, and  an  alameda  (an  avenue  shaded  by 
trees),  but  since  the  primary  meaning  of  the 
word  is  "a  place  where  poplar  trees  grow,"  from 
alamo  (poplar  or  cottonwood),  it  requires  less 
stretching  of  the  imagination  to  believe  that 
some  such  grove  of  cottonwoods  near  the  creek 
gave  it  the  name.  Fray  Danti,  in  his  diary  of  the 
exploration  of  "the  Alameda"  in  1795,  says: 
"We  came  to  the  river  of  the  Alameda,  which 
has  many  large  boulders,  brought  down  by 
floods,  and  is  well  populated  with  willows, 
alders,  and  here  and  there  a  laurel.  At  a  little 
distance  from  where  the  river  runs,  the  tides  of 
the  Estuary  come." 

Bancroft  says,  in  his  History  of  California, 
Vol.  I:  "In  1795  Sergeant  Pedro  Amador  ex- 
plored the  eastern  shore  of  San  Francisco  Bay, 
and  in  his  report  used  the  name  of  Alameda. 
It  is  probable  that  he  applied  the  name,  as  it  had 
been  applied  before,  to  a  grove  on  the  stream, 
since  it  is  so  used  a  little  later." 

210 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


From  the  name  of  an  insignificant  little 
stream,  Alameda  has  come  to  be  the  designation 
of  one  of  the  most  important  counties  in  the 
state,  and  of  the  flourishing  city  on  the  east  side 
of  San  Francisco  Bay,  nine  miles  east-southeast 
of  San  Francisco.  The  name  as  applied  to  the 
city  did  not  originate  with  the  Spanish  discov- 
erers, but  was  given  by  its  first  American  found- 
ers. After  a  warm  contest  over  the  selection  of 
the  name,  during  which  Leandro  City,  Peralta, 
and  Elizabethtown  were  all  considered,  the 
name  of  Alameda  was  finally  chosen  and  for- 
mally adopted  on  June  11,  1853.  The  inference 
is  obvious  that  the  name  was  suggested  to  the 
founders  from  their  familiarity  with  it  as  ap- 
plied to  the  creek,  and  certainly  all  persons  of 
taste  will  agree  that  their  choice  was  a  wise  one, 
for  there  is  no  more  charming  place  name  in  the 
state. 

This  city  was  once  known  as  Encinal  (place 
of  oaks),  on  account  of  the  groves  of  beautiful 
live-oaks  there,  nearly  all  of  which  have,  most 
unfortunately,  been  sacrificed  to  so-called  "im- 
provements." Yet,  some  fine  specimens  still  re- 
main in  the  county,  perhaps  the  best  being  those 
on  the  campus  of  the  University  of  California,  at 
Berkeley,  Alameda  County.  The  encino  (live- 
oak)  is  thus  described  by  Professor  Jepsen :  "It 

213 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 

/•v 
C 


is  a  low,  broad-headed  tree,  commonly  twenty 
to  forty  feet,  but  sometimes  seventy  feet  high. 
The  trunk  is  from  one  to  four  feet  in  diameter, 
usually  short,  and  parting  into  wide-spread 
limbs,  which  often  touch  or  trail  along  the 
ground."  This  tree  has  little  commercial  value, 
but  is  highly  regarded  for  its  hardy  nature, 
which  permits  it  to  flourish  in  exposed  localities 
along  the  coast,  where  no  other  tree  thrives,  and 
for  the  perennial  green  with  which  it  adorns  an 
otherwise  often  bleak  landscape. —  (Notes  taken 
from  The  Trees  of  California,  by  Professor 
Willis  Linn  Jepsen,  of  the  University  of  Cali- 
fornia.) 

LOS  FARALLONES 

Los  Farallones,  the  three  small  islands  stand- 
ing like  watch-dogs  at  our  outer  gate,  about 
thirty-two  miles  due  west  of  the  entrance  to  the 
bay,  derive  their  name  from  farallon,  a  word 
meaning  "a  small  pointed  island  in  the  sea." 
Although  this  word  is  commonly  employed  by 
the  Spanish  to  designate  such  islands,  and  its 
use  in  this  case  is  perfectly  obvious,  the  state- 
ment has  been  made  that  our  isles  were  named 
for  a  certain  Ferolla,  one  of  the  early  navigators, 
a  theory  entirely  without  value. 

214 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


The  Farallones  are  frequented  by  multitudes 
of  sea-fowl,  which  breed  there  and  at  one  time 
supplied  great  quantities  of  eggs  for  the  San 
Francisco  market.  For  some  twenty  years  or 
more  the  United  States  Government,  owing  to 
the  contentions  of  rival  egg  companies,  has  pro- 
hibited the  gathering  and  sale  of  these  eggs. 


MOUNT  TAMALPAIS 

"To  see  the  sun  set  over  Tamalpais, 
Whose  tented  peak,  suffused  with  rosy  mist, 
Blended  the  colors  of  the  sea  and  sky   • 
And  made  the  mountain  one  great  amethyst 

Hanging  against  the  sunset." 

— Edward  Rowland  Sill. 

Tamalpais  (bay  mountain)  is  in  Marin  County, 
five  miles  southwest  of  San  Rafael;  it  rises  to  a 
height  of  2606  feet  above  sea  level,  and  Domi- 
nates San  Francisco  Bay  and  the  surrounding 
country,  offering  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
panoramas  of  sea  and  land  to  be  seen  anywhere 
on  the  earth's  surface.  Its  name  is  a  compound 
of  two  Indian  words,  tamal  (bay)  and  pais 
(mountain) .  The  resemblance  of  the  latter  word 
to  the  Spanish  pais  (country)  is  thought  by  eth- 
nologists to  be  purely  accidental. 

215 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Dr.  Vallejo  has  an  explanation  of  the  meaning 
of  this  word  which  differs  somewhat  from  the 
one  given  by  ethnologists.  He  says  it  was  origin- 
ally called  Temel-pa  (near  the  sea),  and  was 
corrupted  into  its  present  form  by  the  Span- 
iards. According  to  Dr.  Vallejo,  the  suffix  pa 
signifies  nearness.  (Memoirs  of  the  Vallejos, 
edited  by  James  H.  Wilkins,  San  Francisco  Bul- 
letin, January,  1914.) 

The  story  often  told  by  guides  and  other  per- 
sons that  Tamalpais,  because  of  a  fancied  re- 
semblance in  the  mountain's  outline  to  a  woman 
lying  down,  means  "the  sleeping  maiden,"  is 
purely  the  product  of  a  vivid  imagination. 

A  very  remarkable  circumstance  in  the  history 
of  this  mountain  is  the  fact  that  it  underwent  a 
change  of  position  at  the  time  of  the  great  earth- 
quake of  1906,  of  course  in  conjunction  with  the 
entire  sheet  of  the  earth's  surface  upon  which  it 
stands.  On  that  occasion,  the  northeast  and 
southwest  sides  of  the  rift  slipped  upon  each 
other,  first  carrying  the  sheet  of  land  upon  which 
Tamalpais  rests  to  the  north,  then  the  "spring- 
back"  carried  it  back  toward  the  south  again. 
According  to  the  report  of  the  State  Earthquake 
Investigation  Commission,  "As  a  consequence 
of  the  movement,  it  is  probable  that  the  latitudes 
and  longitudes  of  all  points  in  the  Coast  Ranges 
have  been  permanently  changed  a  few  feet." 

216 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


So  the  old  mountain,  sitting  in  Indian  stoicism, 
indifferent  to  the  storms  that  sometimes  lash  its 
sturdy  sides,  the  fogs  that  roll  in  a  white  billowy 
sea  around  its  foot,  and  earthquakes  that  shift 
its  latitude  and  longitude  some  feet,  has  very 
appropriately  received  its  name  from  the  lan- 
guage of  the  aborigines  who  once  dwelt  at  its 
base. 

MOUNT  DIABLO 

Mount  Diablo  (devil  mountain)  is  an  isolated, 
conical  peak  of  the  Coast  Range,  in  Contra  Costa 
County,  about  thirty-eight  miles  northeast  of 
San  Francisco.  It  rises  3849  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea,  and  is  the  most  conspicuous  land- 
mark in  the  central  part  of  the  state.  General 
M.  G.  Vallejo  tells  the  following  story  to  account 
for  the  name:.  "In  1806,  a  military  expedition 
from  San  Francisco  marched  against  a  tribe 
called  the  Bolgones,  who  were  encamped  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountain.  There  was  a  hot  fight, 
which  was  won  by  the  Indians.  Near  the  end  of 
the  fight,  a  person,  decorated  with  remarkable 
plumage,  and  making  strange  movements,  sud- 
denly appeared.  After  the  victory,  the  person, 
called  Pay  (evil  spirit)  in  the  Indian  tongue,  de- 
parted toward  the  mountain.  The  soldiers  heard 

219 


that  this  spirit  often  appeared  thus,  and  they 
named  the  mountain  Diablo  (devil).  These  ap- 
pearances continued  until  the  tribe  was  subdued 
by  Lieutenant  Moraga,  in  the  same  year." 

If  this  be  the  true  story  of  the  naming  of 
Mount  Diablo,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  good 
reason  to  doubt  it,  it  is  quite  likely  that  the  Pay, 
or  devil,  was  one  of  the  "medicine  men"  who 
played  upon  the  superstitions  of  the  Indians  by 
pretending  to  be  the  "spirit  of  the  mountain." 

It  is  said  by  Dr.  Vallejo  that  this  mountain 
was  regarded  by  the  Indians  as  the  home  of  the 
Devil,  called  in  their  language  Pui,  and  that  the 
medicine  men  claimed  to  be  his  agents.  (Mem- 
oirs of  the  Vallejos,  edited  by  James  H.  Wilkins, 
San  Francisco  Bulletin,  January,  1914.) 

There  is  perhaps  no  other  name  in  the  state 
about  which  so  many  legends  have  clustered. 
One  of  these  stories,  related  in  a  history  of  Con- 
tra Costa  County  published  about  twenty  years 
ago,  runs  as  follows:  "There  is  a  legend  that 
the  Bolbones  Indians  brought  to  the  Spanish 
padres  gold  which  they  had  found  in  the  rocky 
recesses  of  the  mountain.  The  good  fathers, 
foreseeing  in  the  abundance  of  the  'root  of  all 
evil'  the  ruin  of  their  pastoral  plans  of  settle- 
ment, took  all  the  gold  thus  gathered  and  placed 
it  in  a  tub  of  water,  after  having  secretly  pois- 

220 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


oned  the  water.  They  then  asked  the  Indians  to 
make  their  dogs  drink  from  the  tub.  As  a  nat- 
ural consquence,  the  animals  died.  The  Indians 
thereupon  declared  the  mountain  to  be  the  hid- 
ing place  of  the  evil  one,  or  Pay,  which  the 
padres  translated  into  the  Spanish  name 
Diablo"  A  bald  fact  that  is  calculated  to  throw 
discredit  on  this  ingenious  story  is  that  Diablo 
is  not  a  gold  producing  mountain. 

Another  account  says  that  a  party  of  troops 
were  sent  there  to  chastise  troublesome  Indians. 
In  the  night  they  saw  moving  lights  in  the 
thicket  which  they  believed  to  be  made  by  In- 
dians, but  in  the  morning,  when  they  charged 
the  thicket,  no  Indians  were  to  be  found,  so  the 
troops  judged  that  the  lights  were  caused  by  el 
diablo. 

The  fanciful  legend  of  Bret  Harte,  which  he 
says  was  partially  substantiated  in  the  report  of 
Senor  Julio  Serro,  the  sub-prefect  of  San  Pablo, 
relates  that  Father  Haro,  a  priest  living  at  the 
San  Pablo  Mission,  met  the  devil  on  the  summit 
of  this  mountain  and  received  from  his  Satanic 
Majesty  the  prophecy  that  the  Spaniards  would 
be  ousted  from  the  land  by  the  Anglo-Saxons. 
In  this  encounter  the  father  suffered  some  in- 
jury, and  his  muleteer  insisted  that  he  had  in 
reality  met  a  bear,  but  the  prefect  thought  the 

221 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


enemy  of  souls  might  have  very  easily  taken  on 
the  aspect  of  a  bear. 

Still  another  story  has  it  that  the  mountain  is 
two-horned,  like  the  devil,  and  that  this  gave 
rise  to  the  name. 

Anolher  has  it  that  some  vaqueros,  who  hap- 
pened to  be  on  the  mountainside,  saw  sparks  of 
fire  issuing  from  what  they  supposed  to  be  solid 
rock,  whereupon  they  fled  in  terror,  being  con- 
vinced that  it  was  the  home  of  the  devil. 

The  common  belief  among  California  Indians 
that  peaks  were  the  abodes  of  spirits  favors  the 
theory  that  the  name  had  its  origin  in  some 
Indian  tradition,  and  makes  the  explanation 
offered  by  General  Vallejo  the  most  plausible 
among  all  those  thus  far  presented. 


SAUSALITO 

Sausalito  (little  willow  grove)  is  on  the  west 
shore  of  San  Francisco  Bay,  in  Marin  County, 
six  miles  northwest  of  San  Francisco.  The  name 
in  its  present  form  is  incorrectly  spelled,  the 
proper  spelling  being  Sauzalito,  diminutive  of 
sauzal  (willow  grove).  On  some  of  the  early 
maps  it  appeared  as  Saucelito,  a  form  which  has 
no  existence  in  Spanish  grammar  and  is  entirely 

222 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


incorrect,  the  diminutive  of  sauce  (willow)  be- 
ing saucito. 

It  is  the  name  of  one  of  the  most  delightful  of 
the  rose-embowered  towns  around  the  bay 
where  many  of  the  business  men  of  San  Fran- 
cisco have  their  homes. 


MARIN  COUNTY 

Of  Marin  County,  separated  from  San  Fran- 
cisco by  The  Golden  Gate,  and  noted  for  the 
beauty  of  its  scenery,  we  get  the  story  from 
General  M.  G.  Vallejo.  It  appears  that  in  1815 
or  '16,  an  exploring  party  from  San  Francisco 
had  a  fight  with  the  Lacatiut  tribe,  so  called  from 
a  certain  root  used  by  them  as  food,  especially 
in  the  Petaluma  Valley.  During  this  fight  the 
chief  was  captured  and  carried  to  San  Francisco, 
but  afterwards  escaped,  and  kept  up  constant 
hostilities  in  Petaluma  Valley.  He  was  finally 
converted  to  Christianity,  and  did  good  service 
for  the  whites  as  ferryman  on  the  bay,  and  on 
account  of  his  skill  in  navigating  these  waters, 
they  called  him  El  Marinero  (the  sailor) ;  it  is 
thought  that  the  name  of  Marin  County  is  a  cor- 
ruption of  this  word.  El  Marinero  died  at  the 
mission  of  San  Rafael  in  1834. 

223 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


TIBURON 

Tiburdn  (shark)  is  on  the  Marin  County  shore, 
opposite  San  Francisco.  It  has  been  facetiously 
suggested  that  this  name  may  have  been  derived 
from  "sharks"  of  the  land  variety,  but  it  prob- 
ably came  from  some  story  connected  with  those 
of  the  sea. 

SAN  RAFAEL 

Even  in  this  land,  so  prodigal  with  its  flowers 
from  its  northern  to  its  southern  borders,  San 
Rafael,  the  county-seat  of  Marin  County,  fifteen 
miles  north  of  San  Francisco,  is  notable  for  the 
exceeding  beauty  of  its  gardens,  where  the  lily 
and  the  rose  bloom  from  year's  end  to  year's 
end. 

Raphael  (God  heals)  is  the  angel  of  the  spirits 
of  men,  and  it  is  his  business  to  gather  the  souls 
of  the  dead  into  the  place  where  they  are  re- 
served for  the  day  of  judgment.  He  it  was  who 
taught  men  the  use  of  simples  to  cure  them  of 
plagues  and  sicknesses  after  the  flood.  The 
"healer"  seems  peculiarly  fitting  as  the  patron 
saint  of  a  place  where  nature  has  done  so  much 
for  the  "joy  of  living." 

224 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


The  mission  of  San  Rafael  Arcdngel  (St.  Ra- 
phael the  Archangel),  founded  in  1817,  has  now 
disappeared,  not  a  vestige  remaining  of  it. 
It  was  first  established  as  an  asistencia,  or 
auxiliary,  to  the  mission  of  San  Francisco,  for 
the  purpose  of  moving  some  of  the  people  there, 
in  the  hope  that  there  would  be  less  sickness  and 
fewer  deaths  in  its  milder  climate. 

A  spur  of  the  Coast  Range  in  Southern  Cali- 
fornia bears  the  name  of  San  Rafael  Mountains. 


RENICIA 

Benicia  (a  surname)  is  the  name  of  a  town  in 
Solano  County,  on  the  north  side  of  Carquinez 
Strait,  twenty-eight  miles  northeast  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. Its  story  may  best  be  told  in  the  words  of 
General  Sherman,  in  the  following  quotation 
from  his  Memoirs:  "We  found  a  solitary  adobe 
house,  occupied  by  Mr.  Hastings  and  his  family, 
embracing  Dr.  Semple,  the  proprietor  of  the 
ferry.  The  ferry  was  a  ship's  boat,  with  a  lateen 
sail,  which  could  carry  six  or  eight  horses.  It 
took  us  several  days  to  cross  over,  and  during 
that  time  we  got  well  acquainted  with  the  doc- 
tor, who  was  quite  a  character.  He  was  about 
seven  feet  high.  Foreseeing,  as  he  thought,  a 

227 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 

/S 
t 


great  city  on  the  bay  somewhere,  he  selected 
Carquinez  Straits  as  its  location,  and  obtained 
from  General  Vallejo  title  to  a  league  of  land, 
on  condition  of  building  a  city  to  bear  the  name 
of  General  Vallejo's  wife,  Francisca  Benicia.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  city  was  first  called  Francisca.  At 
this  time,  where  San  Francisco  now  is  was 
known  as  Yerba  Buena;  now  some  of  the  chief 
men  of  that  place,  knowing  the  importance  of  a 
name,  saw  their  danger,  and  so  changed  the 
name  to  San  Francisco.  Dr.  Semple  was  so  out- 
raged at  their  changing  the  name  to  one  so 
nearly  like  his  town  that  he,  in  turn,  changed 
his  town's  name  to  the  other  name  of  Mrs. 
Vallejo,  and  Benicia  it  has  been  to  this  day." 


LAS  PULGAS  RANCHO 

Las  Palgas  Rancho  (the  fleas  ranch),  is  near 
Redwood  City.  The  story  of  this  place,  with  its 
unpleasantly  suggestive  name,  although  of  little 
importance  in  itself,  is  told  here  for  the  light  it 
throws  upon  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
original  dwellers  in  the  land.  Father  Engelhardt, 
in  his  History  of  the  California  Missions,  de- 
scribes their  way  of  living  thus :  "Their  habita- 
tions were  primitive,  in  summer  often  but  a 

228 


shady  spot,  or  mere  shelter  of  brush.  Their  win- 
ter quarters  consisted  of  a  flimsy  structure  of 
poles  fixed  in  the  ground,  and  drawn  together 
at  the  top,  at  a  height  of  ten  or  twelve  feet.  The 
poles  were  interwoven  with  small  twigs,  and  the 
structure  then  covered  with  tules,  or  tufts  of 
dried  grass.  In  some  places  these  dwellings  were 
conical  in  shape,  in  others  oblong,  and  their  size 
ranged  according  to  the  number  of  people.  At  a 
distance  they  resembled  large  bee-hives,  or  small 
hay-stacks.  On  one  side  there  was  an  opening 
for  a  door,  at  the  top  another  for  smoke.  Here 
the  family,  including  relatives  and  friends,  hud- 
dled around  the  fire,  without  privacy,  beds  or 
other  furniture.  A  few  baskets,  a  stone  mortar 
or  two,  weapons,  some  scanty  rags  of  clothing, 
food  obtained  from  the  hunt,  or  seeds,  were  kept 
here.  All  refuse  food  and  bones  were  left  where 
they  were-  dropped,  giving  the  earth  floor  the 
appearance  of  a  dog-kennel.  Fleas  and  other 
vermin  abounded  in  this  mass  of  filth,  which 
soon  became  too  offensive  even  for  savages,  and 
they  adopted  the  very  simple  method  of  setting 
fire  to  the  hut  and  erecting  another." 

After  reading  this  description,  we  are  not  sur- 
prised when  Father  Crespi  tells  us  that,  having 
arrived  at  a  deserted  Indian  village,  and  some  of 
the  soldiers  having  rashly  taken  refuge  in  the 

229 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


huts  for  the  night,  they  soon  rushed  out  with  the 
cries  of  "las  pulgas!  las  pulgas!"  (the  fleas!  the 
fleas!).  He  goes  on  to  say,  "for  this  reason,  the 
soldiers  called  it  the  Rancheria  de  las  Pulgas" 
(the  village  of  the  fleas),  a  name  borne  by  the 
ranch  to  this  day. 

La  Perouse,  in  his  Voyage  Autour  du  Monde, 
says  the  padres  were  never  able  to  change  this 
form  of  architecture  common  to  the  two  Cali- 
fornias.  The  Indians  said  they  liked  open  air, 
and  that  it  was  convenient,  when  the  fleas  be- 
came too  numerous,  to  burn  the  house  and  con- 
struct a  new  one,  an  argument  not  without  merit. 

POINT  LOBOS 

Point  Lobos  (seal  point,  from  lobo  marino, 
sea-wolf)  is  just  outside  of  the  Golden  Gate,  on 
the  south  side,  near  the  spot  where  the  seals 
crawling  about  on  the  rocks  have  long  been  one 
of  the  chief  attractions  of  the  famous  Cliff 
House. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  LIST 

Alamo  (cottonwood  tree)  is  the  name  of  a 
place  in  Contra  Costa  County,  twenty-four  miles 
northeast  of  San  Francisco. 

230 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


Alvarado,  a  surname,  that  of  one  of  the  first 
governors  of  the  state.  Alvarado  is  a  village  in 
Alameda  County,  on  Alameda  Creek,  twenty- 
four  miles  southeast  of  San  Francisco.  Juan 
Bautista  Alvarado  was  a  central  figure  in  Cali- 
fornia history.  He  was  born  at  Monterey,  Feb- 
ruary 14, 1809,  and  from  '27  on  occupied  various 
official  positions,  including  that  of  governor  of 
the  state.  Bancroft  says  of  his  character  and 
appearance:  "In  physique  Don  Juan  Bautista 
was  of  medium  stature,  stout  build,  fair  com- 
plexion, and  light  hair;  of  genial  temperament, 
courteous  manners,  and  rare  powers  of  winning 
friends.  There  was  much  in  his  character  to 
praise,  much  to  condemn.  He  was  a  man  of  dis- 
sipated habits,  and  engaged  in  intrigues,  but  in 
his  favor  it  may  be  said  that  he  had  more  brains, 
energy  and  executive  ability  than  any  three  of 
his  contemporaries  combined;  he  was  patriotic 
and  with  good  intentions  toward  his  country, 
honorable  in  private  dealings,  and  never  en- 
riched himself  by  his  intrigues.  He  was  not  per- 
sonally guilty  of  having  plundered  the  missions, 
only  responsible  through  being  governor  at  that 
time.  The  accusations  made  against  him  of  an 
unjust  policy  towards  foreigners  were  entirely 
false." 

Bolinas,  the  name  of  a  town  in  Marin  County, 
231 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


delightfully  situated  on  Bolinas  Bay,  eighteen 
miles  northwest  of  San  Francisco.  Bolinas  is 
probably  a  corruption  of  Baulines,  an  Indian 
word  of  unknown  meaning.  A  land  grant  called 
Los  Baulines  was  located  at  the  same  place,  and 
was  probably  the  name  of  an  Indian  village. 
Bolinas  Bay  appears  on  a  map  of  1859  as  Bal- 
lenas,  giving  rise  to  another  theory  that  the 
name  may  have  been  corrupted  from  ballenas 
(whales).  The  fact  that  this  name  was  in  very 
common  use  among  the  Spaniards  for  bays  fre- 
quented by  these  sea  mammals  gives  some  color 
of  plausibility  to  this  theory. 

Another  suggestion  is  that  it  comes  from  bo- 
Una,  a  light  wind,  but  no  historical  support  has 
been  adduced  for  this  theory. 

Until  further  evidence  is  unearthed,  this  name 
must  be  placed  among  the  doubtful,  with  the 
odds  in  favor  of  its  being  a  corruption  of  the 
Indian  name  of  the  land  grant,  Baulines. 

Point  Bonito  (pretty  point)  is  the  southern 
extremity  of  Marin  County,  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Golden  Gate.  This  name  has  been  corrupted 
from  Punto  de  Bonetes  (hat  point),  which  was 
given  to  it  in  1776.  It  was  originally  named 
Bonete  in  reference  to  its  resemblance  to  a  sort 
of  hat  worn  by  some  of  the  clergy,  and  it  is  so 
called  in  the  old  Spanish  documents.  When  a 

232 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


vessel  approached  the  north  point  she  would 
see  three  heads,  each  resembling  a  bonete.  The 
south  head  has  since  been  cut  down  to  give  a 
more  advantageous  position  for  the  light-house. 
Carquinez  is  the  name  of  the  strait  flowing 
between  the  counties  of  Contra  Costa  and  So- 
lano,  and  connects  San  Pablo  Bay  with  Suisiin 
Bay.  The  strait  is  eight  miles  long,  and  at  its 
narrowest  part  nearly  a  mile  wide.  All  the 
waters  flowing  through  the  great  central  valley 
of  the  state  from  the  Sierra  Nevada  pass  through 
this  strait.  According  to  the  scientists  the  name 
Carquinez  is  derived  from  Karkin,  the  name  of 
an  Indian  village  in  that  region,  but  Dr.  Vallejo 
has  another  story.  He  says  the  commandant  at 
Monterey,  who  was  a  man  with  some  classical 
education,  named  it  from  the  Greek  word 
karkin,  crab,  because  of  the  report  made  by  the 
Lieutenant  Vallejo  expedition  of  having  found 
a  great  number  of  little  crabs  there.  (Memoirs 
of  the  Vallejos,  edited  by  James  H.  Wilkins,  San 
Francisco  Bulletin,  January,  1914.)  Fray  Jose 
Viader,  diarist  of  the  Moraga  expedition  of  1810, 
says :  "We  went  on  to  explore  the  plain  and  ridge 
of  Los  Carquinez,  an  estuary  on  which  they  say 
is  the  village  of  the  Carquines."  Other  diarists 
speak  of  this  Indian  village  and  tribe  under  the 
name  of  the  Carquines,  making  it  fairly  certain 
that  the  origin  of  the  name  is  Indian. 

233 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


The  name  has  been  immortalized  by  Bret 
Harte  in  his  sketch  called  In  the  Carquinez 
Woods,  in  which  there  is  a  fine  description  of  a 
redwood  forest. 

Contra  Costa  (opposite  coast),  so  called  on  ac- 
count of  its  original  position  directly  opposite 
San  Francisco.  It  should  be  explained  that  the 
name  Contra  Costa,  which  scarcely  seems  appro- 
priate in  its  present  application,  was  originally 
applied  to  the  whole  of  the  coast  opposite  San 
Francisco.  Afterwards  the  part  directly  facing 
San  Francisco  was  cut  off  to  form  Alameda 
County,  thus  destroying  the  significance  of  the 
name  Contra  Costa. 

Martinez  (a  surname)  is  the  name  of  the 
county-seat  of  Contra  Costa  County,  and  is  on 
the  south  shore  of  Suisun  Bay,  thirty-six  miles 
northeast  of  San  Francisco.  Ignacio  Martinez 
was  a  native  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  born  in  1774. 
He  was  a  military  officer  under  the  Mexican 
government  in  California,  and  was  comman- 
dante  at  San  Francisco  from  1822  to  '27.  Ban- 
croft says  of  him:  "He  was  not  popular  as  an 
officer,  being  haughty  and  despotic,  but  as  a 
rancher  he  is  spoken  of  as  a  very  courteous  and 
hospitable  man.  The  town  of  Martinez  takes  its 
name  from  him  or  his  family." 

Merced  Lake  (Mercy  Lake)  is  near  San  Fran- 
234 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


cisco.  This  lake  was  discovered  and  named  by 
a  land  party  under  Captain  Bruno  Heceta  in 
September,  1775.  Its  full  name  is  Nuestra 
Seiiora  de  la  Merced  (Our  Lady  of  Mercy). 

Honiara  Point  and  Montara  Mountains  are  in 
the  western  part  of  San  Mateo  County.  Montara 
is  a  surname. 

Olema,  said  to  be  an  Indian  word  meaning 
"coyote,"  is  the  name  of  a  town  in  Marin  County, 
one  mile  from  the  head  of  Tomales  Bay,  and 
thirty-five  miles  northwest  of  San  Francisco. 

Pacheco,  a  surname,  that  of  a  pioneer  family 
of  California.  The  town  of  Pacheco  is  in  Contra 
Costa  County,  thirty  miles  northeast  of  San 
Francisco.  Although  Governor  Romualdo 
Pacheco,  of  whom  Bancroft  says  that  "his  record 
as  a  citizen,  in  respect  of  character,  attainments 
and  social  standing  was  a  good  one,"  was  the 
most  prominent  member  of  the  family,  the 
town  was  not  named  in  his  honor,  but  for  Salvio 
Pacheco,  a  man  who  served  in  many  military 
and  civil  offices.  "He  spent  his  life  on  Mount 
Diablo  Rancho,  on  which  is  the  town  bearing 
his  name." 

Pescadero  (fishing  place)  is  in  a  fertile  valley 
of  San  Mateo  County,  on  the  coast  about  forty- 
four  miles  south  of  San  Francisco.  There  are  a 
number  of  Pescaderos  in  the  state. 

235 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Pinole  is  said  to  be  an  Aztec  word,  applied  to 
any  kind  of  grain  or  seeds,  parched  and  ground. 
Of  this  flour  a  very  appetizing  sort  of  gruel  was 
made.  The  town  of  Pinole  is  in  Contra  Costa 
County,  twelve  miles  west  of  Martinez.  It  is  the 
site  of  extensive  powder  works.  See  Index. 

Portola  (a  surname),  is  the  name  of  a  town  in 
San  Mateo  County,  and  of  another  in  Plumas 
County,  which  were  named  in  honor  of  the 
celebrated  discoverer  of  San  Francisco  Bay.  It 
is  unfortunate  that  this  name  is  often  mispro- 
nounced as  Portola.  Many  original  signatures 
of  this  famous  explorer  are  extant,  showing  con- 
clusively that  the  accent  was  on  the  last  sylla- 
ble— Portola. 

Potrero  (pasture  ground)  is  one  of  the  districts 
of  San  Francisco.  This  is  only  one  of  the  many 
Potreros  in  the  state. 

Presidio  is  a  word  used  by  the  Spaniards  in 
the  double  meaning  of  prison  or  military  post. 
It  may  be  that  the  custom  of  using  convicts  as 
soldiers,  prevalent  with  the  Spanish,  had  some- 
thing to  do  with  this  double  usage  of  the  word. 
The  Presidio  of  San  Francisco,  now  a  regular 
military  post  of  the  United  States,  although  still 
retaining  its  Castilian  name,  is  picturesquely 
and  delightfully  situated  on  the  north  end  of 
the  peninsula.  There  is  also  a  government  pre- 
sidio at  Monterey. 

236 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


Point  Reyes  (kings  point)  was  named  by  Viz- 
caino in  honor  of  the  "three  wise  men,"  or  "holy 
kings,"  because  it  was  discovered  on  the  day  of 
their  devotion.  The  date  of  the  discovery  and 
naming  was  December  6,  1603.  This  point  is  in 
Marin  County  and  is  the  outer  point  of  Drake's 
Bay,  where  the  noted  adventurer  is  supposed  to 
have  made  his  anchorage,  and  where  Cermenon 
was  wrecked. 

Rodeo  (round-up  of  cattle.)  Rodeos  were  held, 
and  in  some  parts  of  the  state  still  take  place, 
for  the  purpose  of  separating  and  branding  the 
cattle  belonging  to  individual  owners,  an  opera- 
tion decidedly  necessary  when  pastures  were  un- 
fenced,  and  in  early  days  one  of  the  most  pic- 
turesque features  of  California  life.  The  village 
of  Rodeo  is  in  Contra  Costa  County. 

San  Anselmo  (St.  Anselm)  is  in  Marin  County. 

San  Bruno,  a  village  near  San  Francisco,  was 
named  for  St.  Bruno,  the  founder  and  first  abbot 
of  the  Carthusian  Order.  This  order  of  monks 
is  among  the  most  severe  in  its  rules,  requiring 
almost  perpetual  silence  of  its  members.  Its 
devotees  are  only  permitted  to  speak  together 
once  a  week.  They  never  eat  flesh,  and  are  com- 
pelled to  labor  constantly. 

San  Geronimo  (St.  Jerome)  is  the  saint  usually 
pictured  as  accompanied  by  a  lion,  in  commem- 

237 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


oration  of  the  well-known  story  of  the  removal 
of  a  thorn  from  the  foot  of  one  of  those  beasts 
by  Jerome,  and  the  devotion  of  the  lion  to  him 
afterwards.  San  Geronimo  is  the  name  of  a 
small  stream  in  Marin  County,  noted  for  its 
salmon  fisheries. 

San  Gregorio  (St.  Gregory)  is  in  San  Mateo 
County,  twenty-four  miles  southwest  of  Red- 
wood City.  St.  Gregory  was  a  noble  Roman  who 
devoted  his  wealth  to  charity,  and  turned  his 
home  into  a  hospital  and  monastery.  He  was 
elected  to  the  high  office  of  Pope,  and  became 
the  composer  of  what  is  called  from  him  the 
"Gregorian  Chant." 

San  Leandro  (St.  Leander)  is  in  Alameda 
County,  on  San  Leandro  Creek,  sixteen  miles 
southeast  of  San  Francisco.  St.  Leander  was  at 
one  time  Rishop  of  Seville,  and  is  one  of  the 
patron  saints  of  that  city. 

San  Lorenzo  (St.  Lawrence)  was  a  saint  who 
suffered  martyrdom  by  being  roasted  on  a  grid- 
iron. The  legend  relates  that  he  said  to  his  tor- 
mentors, "I  am  now  sufficiently  cooked  on  this 
side,  turn  me  over  and  roast  me  on  the  other." 
San  Lorenzo  is  in  Alameda  County,  twenty  miles 
southeast  of  San  Francisco. 

San  Mateo  (St.  Matthew)  is  the  name  of  a 
county  bordering  on  San  Francisco  Ray,  and  of 

238 


T  HEIR      M  E  A  X  I  X  G      A  X  I)       R  ()  M  A  X  C  E 


a  town  on  the  west  shore  of  the  bay,  twenty-one 
miles  south  of  San  Francisco.  St.  Matthew  was 
a  Hebrew  by  birth,  and  the  author  of  the  book 
of  the  Scriptures  that  bears  his  name. 

San  Pablo  (St.  Paul)  is  in  Contra  Costa 
County,  on  San  Pablo  Bay,  fifteen  miles  north- 
east of  San  Francisco.  One  of  the  legends  con- 
cerning St.  Paul  is  that  "the  church  called  'San 
Paolo  delle  Tre  Fontane,'  near  Rome,  is  built 
over  three  fountains  which  are  said  to  have 
sprung  up  at  the  three  places  where  the  head  of 
St.  Paul  fell  and  bounded,  after  being  cut  off 
by  the  executioner.  It  is  said  that  the  fountains 
vary  in  the  warmth  of  the  water, — the  first,  or 
the  one  where  the  head  fell,  being  the  hottest; 
the  next,  or  that  of  the  first  bound,  cooler;  and 
the  third  still  cooler." 

San  Quentin  (properly  San  Quintin)  is  a  vil- 
lage in  Marin  County,  on  the  west  shore  of  San 
Francisco  Bay,  eleven  miles  north  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. This  place,  where  the  forbidding  walls  of 
the  State's  Prison  shut  out  the  light  of  Califor- 
nia's glorious  sun  from  the  unfortunates  en- 
closed there,  very  fittingly  bears  the  name  of  a 
saint  whose  gloomy  story  runs  thus :  "San  Quin- 
tin was  the  son  of  Zeno.  He  became  converted 
and  gave  up  a  high  command  which  he  held  in 
the  Roman  army,  in  order  to  preach.  He  labored 

239 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


especially  in  Belgium,  and  suffered  death  by 
being  impaled  on  an  iron  spit." — (Stories  of  the 
Saints.)  It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  town 
was  not  directly  named  for  this  saint,  but  re- 
ceived the  name  indirectly  from  Point  Quintin, 
on  the  Marin  coast,  which  was  so  called  from  an 
Indian  chief  of  that  region  who  had  been  thus 
christened  by  the  Spaniards. 

San  Ramon  (St.  Raymond)  is  in  Contra  Costa 
County,  nine  miles  east  of  Hayward.  "St.  Ray- 
mond belonged  to  the  Order  of  Mercy,  and 
labored  for  the  captives  among  the  Moors.  By 
the  Mahometans,  among  whom  he  was  long  a 
captive,  for  the  ransom  of  his  Christian  breth- 
ren, his  lips  were  bored  through  with  a  red-hot 
iron,  and  fastened  with  a  padlock,"  an  effective, 
if  cruel  method  of  preventing  him  from  preach- 
ing the  Christian  faith. 

Sunol  (a  surname).  Sunol  is  a  town  in  Ala- 
meda  County,  thirty-six  miles  southeast  of  San 
Francisco.  In  Fremont's  Memoirs  he  refers  to 
Don  Antonio  Sunol,  probably  a  member  of  the 
same  family  for  whom  this  town  is  named. 

Tocaloma  is  a  delightful  secluded  glen  and 
creek  in  Marin  County,  not  far  north  of  San 
Francisco,  where  a  hunting  and  fishing  preserve 
is  maintained.  The  word  is  Indian,  but  its  mean- 
ing has  not  been  ascertained. 

240 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


Tomales  Bay  is  an  inlet  of  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
extending  southeastward  into  Marin  County.  It 
is  fourteen  miles  long.  The  village  of  Tomales 
is  on  the  bay  of  the  same  name,  fifty-five  miles 
northwest  of  San  Francisco.  The  name  Tomales 
is  a  Spanish  corruption  of  the  Indian  tamal 
(bay),  a  word  which  came  to  be  applied  to  the 
natives  in  the  neighborhood  of  San  Francisco 
Bay. 

Vallejo  (a  surname)  is  the  name  of  a  place  in 
Solano  County.  The  Vallejos  were  among  the 
most  prominent  of  the  California  pioneer  fam- 
ilies. "The  founder  of  the  family  was  Ignacio 
Vicente  Ferrer  Vallejo,  born  at  Jalisco,  Mexico, 
in  1748.  He  came  of  a  family  of  pure  Spanish 
blood,  and  of  superior  education.  The  most  dis- 
tinguished of  his  large  family  was  Mariano 
Guadalupe,  born  at  Monterey  in  1808.  Don  Mar- 
iano served  with  great  ability  in  various  capaci- 
ties under  the  Mexican  government,  and  was  at 
one  time  Commandante  General  of  California. 
He  was  the  founder  of  Sonoma,  and  it  was  to  his 
untiring  efforts  that  the  development  of  the 
north  was  largely  due.  He  foresaw  the  fate  of 
his  country,  and  finally  cast  in  his  lot  with  the 
United  States,  for  which  he  seems  to  have  been 
ill  repaid.  I  have  found  none  among  the  Cali- 
fornians  whose  public  record  in  respect  of  hon- 

241 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


orable  conduct,  patriotic  zeal,  executive  ability, 
and  freedom  from  petty  prejudices  of  race  or 
religion  or  sectional  politics  is  more  evenly 
favorable  than  his." — (Bancroft.) 


242 


NORTH  OF 
SAN  FRANCISC 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


X 

NORTH  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO 
SONOMA 

Sonoma,  the  name  of  the  northern  county,  and 
of  the  town  in  the  beautiful  Sonoma  Valley, 
forty-five  miles  north  of  San  Francisco,  is  of 
doubtful  origin.  It  is  probable  that  it  comes  from 
Indian,  rather  than  Spanish  sources.  In  the 
native  dialect  of  that  region  there  is  the  con- 
stantly recurring  ending  tso-noma,  from  tso  (the 
earth),  and  noma  (village), — hence,  tsonoma 
(earth  village  or  earth  place).  The  name  was 
given  by  missionaries  to  a  chief  of  the  Indians 
there,  and  later  applied  to  all  the  Indians  at  the 
mission.  From  Indian  sources  it  seems  there  was 
a  captain  among  them  who  was  commonly  called 
Sonoma,  but  who  was  known  by  a  different 
name  among  his  own  people. —  (University  of 
California  Publications  in  American  Archaeol- 
ogy and  Ethnology.) 

The  name  Sonoma  is  explained  in  a  different 
way  by  Dr.  Vallejo,  who  says  it  was  named  for 
an  Indian  chief  called  Sono,  a  word  signifying 

245 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


"nose,"  given  to  the  chief  as  his  appellation  be- 
cause of  the  very  large  development  of  that 
feature  of  his  face.  The  suffix  ma  is  said  by  Dr. 
Vallejo  to  mean  "valley"  or  "land,"  and  thus 
Sonoma  would  bear  the  meaning  of  "nose 
valley,"  or  "nose  land," — (Memoirs  of  the 
Vallejos,  edited  by  James  H.  Wilkins,  San  Fran- 
cisco Bulletin,  January,  1914.) 

Fray  Jose  Altimira,  diarist  of  an  exploring  ex- 
pedition to  that  region  in  1823,  says,  "We  came 
to  the  plain  called  Sonoma  from  the  Indians  who 
formerly  lived  there."  The  one  thing  that  is 
quite  clear  about  this  name  is  that  its  origin  is 
undoubtedly  Indian. 

It  has  been  said  that  Sonoma  means  "valley 
of  the  moon,"  in  reference  to  the  shape  of  the 
valley,  but  there  is  probably  more  of  poetry  than 
of  truth  in  this  story.  The  California  Indians 
lacked  the  imagination  to  have  thought  of  such 
a  name. 

At  this  place,  San  Francisco  de  Solano,  the  last 
of  the  great  chain  of  missions,  was  founded  July 
4,  1823.  The  mission  buildings  have  been  put  in 
a  fair  state  of  preservation  and  the  church  has 
been  restored  by  the  state. 


240 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


NAPA 

Napa  is  the  name  of  a  county,  river  and  city, 
the  county  adjacent  to  San  Pablo  Bay,  into 
which  the  river  falls.  The  town  is  the  county- 
seat  of  Napa  County,  and  is  on  the  river  of  the 
same  name,  about  thirty-nine  miles  northeast  of 
San  Francisco.  The  Napa  Soda  Springs  are  an 
interesting  natural  feature  of  this  place. 

Napa,  accented  in  some  of  the  old  documents 
as  Napa,  was  the  name  of  an  Indian  tribe  who 
occupied  that  valley,  said  to  have  been  one  of  the 
bravest  of  the  California  tribes,  and  who  con- 
stantly harassed  the  frontier  posts.  The  entire 
tribe  was  practically  wiped  out  by  smallpox  in 
1838. 

According  to  S.  A.  Barrett,  in  the  University 
of  California  Publications  in  American  Archae- 
ology and  Ethnology,  there  is  a  Porno  Indian 
word,  napa,  meaning  "harpoon  point,"  between 
which  and  the  name  of  the  town  of  Napa  there 
may  be  some  connection. 

Dr.  Vallejo  says  the  suffix  pa  signifies  prox- 
imity, and  that  Napa  means  "near  mother,"  or 
"near  home,"  or  "mother-land,"  and  that  accord- 
ing to  tradition  Napa  Valley  was  the  cradle  of 

249 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


the  Suysun  race. — (Memoirs  of  the  Vallejos, 
edited  by  James  H.  Wilkins,  San  Francisco  Bul- 
letin, January,  1914.) 

CARNE  HUMANA 

Among  the  names  of  the  old  Spanish  land 
grants  are  many  that  hold  a  suggestion  of  inter- 
esting and  sometimes  tragic  tales,  now  lost  in  the 
dim  shadows  of  the  past.  Of  such  is  Came 
Humana  (human  flesh),  the  name  of  a  grant  in 
Napa  County,  near  St.  Helena.  This  spot  may 
have  been  the  scene  of  one  of  those  horrible  acts 
of  cannibalism  to  which  the  Indians  of  the  entire 
Southwest  were  quite  generally  addicted.  Cap- 
tain Pages,  in  his  diary  of  one  of  the  expeditions 
to  San  Francisco  Bay,  mentions  that  this  prac- 
tice prevailed  among  the  Indians  of  that  region 
to  a  certain  extent,  but  seems  to  have  been  con- 
fined to  the  eating  of  the  bodies  of  enemies 
slain  in  battle,  and  only  the  relatives  of  the 
slayer  were  permitted  to  take  part  in  the  ab- 
horrent feast. 

SANTA  ROSA 

Santa   Rosa    (St.   Rose),   the    county-seat   of 
250 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


Sonoma  County,  is  fifty-seven  miles  northwest 
of  San  Francisco. 

An  interesting  story  is  told  of  Santa  Rosa  de 
Lima,  said  to  be  the  only  canonized  female  saint 
of  the  New  World.  She  was  born  at  Lima,  in 
Peru,  and  was  distinguished  for  her  hatred  of 
vanity,  and  her  great  austerity,  carrying  these 
characteristics  to  such  an  extreme  that  she  de- 
stroyed her  beautiful  complexion  with  a  com- 
pound of  pepper  and  quicklime.  When  her 
mother  commanded  her  to  wear  a  wreath  of 
roses,  she  so  arranged  it  that  it  was  in  truth  a 
crown  of  thorns.  Her  food  consisted  principally 
of  bitter  herbs,  and  she  maintained  her  parents 
by  her  labor,  working  all  day  in  her  garden  and 
all  night  with  her  needle.  The  legend  relates 
that  when  Pope  Clement  X  was  asked  to  canon- 
ize her,  he  refused,  exclaiming:  "India  y  Santa! 
Asi  como  Uneven  rosas!"  (An  Indian  woman  a 
saint!  That  may  happen  when  it  rains  roses!) 
Instantly  a  shower  of  roses  began  to  fall  in  the 
Vatican,  and  did  not  cease  until  the  Pope  was 
convinced  of  his  error.  This  saint  is  the  patron- 
4 ess  of  America,  and  is  represented  as  wearing  a 
thorny  crown,  and  holding  in  her  hand  the  figure 
of  the  infant  Jesus,  which  rests  on  full-blown 
roses. — (Stories  of  the  Saints.) 

251 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


MENDOCINO  COUNTY 

Mendocino  County,  in  the  northwestern  part 
of  the  state,  is  distinguished  for  its  extensive 
forests  of  redwoods.  The  main  belt  of  these 
trees  extends  through  this  county,  and  they  may 
here  be  seen  in  their  highest  development.  They 
vary  in  height  from  100  to  340  feet,  and  reach  a 
diameter  of  from  two  to  sixteen  feet,  having  a 
red,  fibrous  bark  sometimes  a  foot  in  thickness. 
Notwithstanding  their  great  size,  the  delicacy  of 
their  foliage,  which  takes  the  form  of  flat  sprays, 
gives  them  a  graceful,  fern-like  appearance.  The 
age  of  mature  redwoods  is  said  to  range  from 
500  to  1300  years.  The  special  characteristics  of 
the  wood  of  these  trees  are,  its  durability  when 
buried  in  the  soil,  and  its  resistance  to  fire.  Com- 
mercially it  is  valuable  for  many  purposes,  being 
preferred  to  steel  for  water  supply  conduits, 
and,  in  the  form  of  saw-dust,  found  to  be  better 
than  cork  for  packing  fresh  grapes. —  (Notes 
from  The  Trees  of  California,  by  Professor 
Willis  Linn  Jepsen,  of  the  University  of  Cali- 
fornia.) 

Probably  the  first  written  mention  of  these 
trees  occurs  in  the  diary  of  Gaspar  de  Portola, 

252 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


the  discoverer  of  San  Francisco  Bay,  whose  at- 
tention was  attracted  to  them  while  on  his  way 
up  the  coast,  and  from  whom  they  received  the 
name  of  palo  Colorado  (redwood).  Altogether, 
the  credit  of  their  discovery  seems  to  belong  to 
Portola,  although  it  has  been  given  by  some 
persons  to  Archibald  Menzies,  who  wrote  a  de- 
scription of  the  trees  in  1795. 

The  village  of  Mendocino  is  on  the  coast, 
about  130  miles  northwest  of  San  Francisco. 
The  name  was  first  applied  to  the  cape,  which 
was  discovered  and  named  in  honor  of  Don 
Antonio  de  Mendoza,  first  Viceroy  of  New  Spain, 
by  certain  ships  returning  from  the  Philippines. 

KLAMATH 

Klamath  is  the  name  of  a  village  in  Humboldt 
County,  but  is  particularly  known  as  applied  to 
the  Klamath  River,  which  flows  in  a  deep  and 
narrow  canyon  through  the  counties  of  Siskiyou 
and  Humboldt. 

The  word,  in  its  different  forms  of  Klamath, 
Tlametl,  and  Clamet,  is  the  name  by  which  these 
Indians  were  known  to  the  Chinooks,  and 
through  them  to  the  whites,  their  proper  desig- 
nation in  their  own  language  being  Lutuami.— 
(Bancroft's  Native  Races,  Vol.  I,  page  444.) 

253 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


The  meaning  of  the  word  has  not  been  posi- 
tively ascertained,  although  it  is  thought  by  eth- 
nologists to  be  a  possible  corruption  of  Maklaks 
(people,  community, — literally,  the  encamped). 
The  Klamaths  were  a  hardy  people,  who  had 
many  slaves  captured  from  other  tribes.  The 
slave  trade  seems  to  have  been  carried  on  quite 
extensively  among  the  California  Indians. 


MODOC  COUNTY 

Modoc,  the  county  in  the  northeastern  corner 
of  the  state,  is  notable  as  having  been  the  home 
of'  the  only  California  tribe  that  ever  caused 
serious  trouble  to  the  United  States  Government. 
The  Modoc  wars  are  a  matter  of  history. 

The  Modocs  were  a  fierce  tribe  of  Indians  who 
lived  at  the  head-waters  of  Pit  River,  and  the 
name  is  thought  by  some  persons  to  mean  "head 
of  the  river,"  or  "people,  community,"  but  eth- 
nologists are  of  the  opinion  that  it  means  "south 
people,"  probably  used  by  tribes  living  north  of 
the  Modocs.  Bancroft,  quoting  from  Steele,  in 
Indian  Affairs  Report  of  1864,  page  121,  says: 
"The  word  Modoc  is  a  Shasta  Indian  word,  and 
means  all  distant,  stranger,  or  hostile  Indians, 
and  became  applied  to  this  tribe  by  white  men 

254 


in  early  days  from  hearing  the  Shastas  refer  to 
them  by  this  term."  It  does  not  appear  that 
Bancroft  had  any  genuine  scientific  authority 
for  this  statement. 

Powers,  in  his  Tribes  of  California,  states  that 
some  persons  derive  this  name  from  Mo-dok-us, 
the  name  of  a  former  chief  of  the  tribe  under 
whose  leadership  they  seceded  from  the  Klam- 
ath  Lake  Indians  and  became  an  independent 
tribe.  As  it  was  common  for  seceding  bands  to 
assume  the  name  of  their  leader,  Powers  is  in- 
clined to  accept  this  explanation  of  the  name. 

Professor  Kroeber  says:  "Modoc  means 
'south,'  nothing  more  or  less,  and  these  people 
were  so  called  by  the  Klamath,  their  kinsmen  on 
the  north." 


SHASTA 

To  account  for  the  name  Shasta,  a  number  of 
theories  have  been  advanced,  no  one  of  which 
seems  to  be  positively  established.  According  to 
the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  "Shasta  may  be  a  cor- 
ruption of  Sus-ti-ka,  apparently  the  name  of  a 
well-known  Indian  living  about  1840  near  the 
site  of  Yreka.  The  name  was  applied  to  a  group 
of  small  tribes  in  Northern  California,  extend- 

255 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


ing  into  Oregon,  who  were  soon  extinguished  by 
the  development  of  mining  operations." 

Bancroft,  in  his  Native  Races,  says,  "Shasta 
was  apparently  the  name  of  a  tribe  living  about 
1840  near  Yreka,  a  tribe  made  up  of  several 
groups.  They  were  a  sedentary  people,  living  in 
small  houses,  similar  to  those  in  use  by  the  In- 
dians on  the  coast  immediately  to  the  west. 
Their  food  was  made  up  of  acorns,  seeds,  roots, 
and  fish,  particularly  salmon.  The  salmon  was 
caught  by  net,  weir,  trap,  and  spear.  Their  arts 
were  few.  They  had  dug-out  canoes  of  a  rather 
broad,  clumsy  type.  The  bow  was  their  chief 
weapon,  and  their  carving  was  limited  to  rude 
spoons  of  wood  and  bone.  Painting  was  little 
used,  and  basketry  was  limited  to  basket  caps 
for  the  women,  and  small  food  baskets  of  simple 
form.  The  tribe  soon  succumbed  to  the  unfavor- 
able environment  of  the  mining  camp,  and  is 

now  almost  extinct The  Shasta  Indians 

were  known  in  their  own  language  as  Weohow, 
a  .word  meaning  'stone  house,'  from  the  large 
cave  in  their  country." 

"Shas-ti-ka  was  probably  the  tribal  name  of 
the  Shasta  Indians.  Wai-re-ka  (mountain)  was 
their  name  for  Mt.  Shasta." — (Powers'  Tribes  of 
California.) 

Another  theory  advanced  is  that  Shasta  is  a 
256 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


corruption  of  the  Russian  word  tchastal  (white, 
or  pure  mountain),  and  still  another  that  it 
comes  from  the  French  chaste  (pure),  but  it  is 
likely  that  its  resemblance  to  these  words  is 
purely  accidental,  and  that  its  origin  is  Indian. 

Whatever  may  be  the  derivation  of  its  name, 
there  is  no  question  that  Mount  Shasta,  with  its 
snow-capped  summit,  has  but  few  rivals  for 
scenic  beauty  among  its  mountain  sisterhood. 
It  is  an  extinct  volcano,  with  a  double  peak,  and 
rises  to  a  height  of  14,380  feet.  There  are  minor 
glaciers  on  the  northern  slope.  Fremont  says  of 
it:  "The  Shastl  peak  stands  at  the  head  of  the 
lower  valley,  rising  from  a  base  of  about  one 
thousand  feet,  out  of  a  forest  of  heavy  timber. 
It  ascends  like  an  immense  column  upwards  of 
14,000  feet  (nearly  the  height  of  Mont  Blanc), 
the  summit  glistening  with  snow,  and  visible, 
from  favorable  points  of  view,  at  a  distance  of 
140  miles  down  the  valley." 

On  a  United  States  map  of  date  of  1848,  drawn 
by  Charles  Preuss  from  surveys  made  by  Fre- 
mont and  other  persons,  the  name  appears 
spelled  as  Tshastl. 

Mount  Shasta  is  in  Siskiyou  County,  and  is 
the  most  conspicuous  natural  feature  in  that 
part  of  the  state. 

259 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


SISKIYOU  COUNTY 

Except  that  it  is  of  Indian-  origin,  nothing 
authentic  has  been  obtained  concerning  Siski- 
you,  the  name  of  the  county  in  the  extreme  north 
of  the  state.  Several  popular  theories  have  been 
advanced,  one  to  the  effect  that  Siskiyou  means 
"lame  horse."  If  that  be  true  the  word  must 
have  been  introduced  into  the  Indian  language 
after  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards,  since  horses 
were  unknown  to  the  Indians  before  that  period. 
Another  story,  perhaps  more  pleasing  than  true, 
runs  as  follows :  "K)n  the  summit  of  a  mountain 
in  Oregon,  just  over  the  divide,  there  is  a  beauti- 
ful, level  spot,  watered  by  cool  springs,  which 
overlooks  the  country  for  miles  around.  Here 
the  powerful  Shasta,  Rogue  River,  and  Klamath 
tribes  used  to  meet  to  smoke  and  indulge  in 
dancing  and  games.  They  called  the  place  Sis- 
ki-you,  the  'council  ground.'  " 

Siskiyou  County  is  notable  for  its  mountain 
scenery,  and  includes  within  its  borders  the 
famous  Mount  Shasta. 

Another  explanation  of  the  name  Siskiyou  has 
been  furnished  by  Edward  C.  Roberts  as  coming 
from  Dr.  Ream,  an  old  physician  who  practiced 

260 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


in  that  county  for  nearly  half  a  century,  and 
who  had  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  all  the 
pioneers,  as  well  as  the  Indians  and  trappers. 
Dr.  Ream  said  the  name  was  not  Indian,  but 
French,  in  origin,  and  that  his  information  came 
from  a  Hudson  Bay  Company  man  from  whom 
he  had  received  it  in  early  days.  The  company 
established  an  outpost  in  Vancouver  about  1828, 
and  soon  afterwards  a  veteran  trapper  and  ex- 
plorer named  McCloud  pushed  southward  as 
far  as  the  river  which  now  bears  his  name.  The 
country  was  therefore  trapping  ground  for  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company  men  in  those  remote  days. 
The  Klamath  flows  in  a  westerly  direction 
through  the  county,  and  the  story,  as  it  was  told 
the  doctor,  says  that  at  a  point  near  the  village 
of  Klamathon  the  river  could  be  crossed  at  most 
times  by  making  use  of  six  large  stepping  stones, 
or  flat  boulders,  which  lay  strung  across  the 
stream.  The  French-Canadian  trappers  called 
it  the  crossing  of  the  "six  cailloux,"  and  from 
this  local  application  came  a  later  and  broader 
one  embracing  the  entire  region  around  the 
crossing,  and  the  name  became  gradually  cor- 
rupted into  Siskiyou. 

Professor  Kroeber  is  not  inclined  to  accept 
this  explanation,  however,  and  says,  in  his 
monograph  on  California  Place  Names  of  Indian 

261 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


Origin:  "This  story  looks  too  much  like  a  typi- 
cal case  of  subsequent  folk-etymology  to  engen- 
der much  confidence.  The  usual  assumption  of 
an  Indian  origin,  though  not  necessarily  from  a 
tribal  name,  is  more  credible.  The  source,  if 
aboriginal,  is,  however,  at  least  as  likely  to  have 
been  Oregonian  as  Californian." 

TRINITY  COUNTY 

Trinity  County  received  its  name  from  Trini- 
dad Bay,  which  was  discovered  and  named  by 
Captain  Bruno  Ezeta,  on  Trinity  Sunday,  in  the 
year  1775.  Trinidad  is  the  Spanish  word  mean- 
ing Trinity. 

Trinity  Biver  was  so  named  through  the  mis- 
taken belief  that  it  emptied  into  Trinidad  Bay. 

Trinidad  is  also  the  name  of  a  village  in  Hum- 
boldt  County,  on  the  ocean  shore,  twenty  miles 
north  of  Eureka. 

YBEKA 

Yreka,  the  name  of  the  county-seat  of  Siskiyou 
County,  is  an  Indian  word,  of  which  the  spelling 
has  probably  been  corrupted,  perhaps  in  a  spirit 
of  facetiousness,  from  the  original  Wai-ri-ka  to 

262 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


its  present  eccentric  form.  Various  theories  have 
been  offered  in  explanation  of  the  word,  but  the 
only  one  apparently  based  on  scientific  data 
seems  to  be  that  it  means  "north  place."  One 
writer  advances  the  whimsical  explanation  that 
the  word  was  formed  by  the  transposition  of  the 
letters  in  "bakery,"  but  fails  to  explain  what  be- 
comes of  the  letter  "b."  This  is,  of  course,  but 
an  idle  invention. 

Yreka  is  said  by  Powers,  in  his  Tribes  of  Cali- 
fornia, to  be  the  Indian  word  for  "mountain," 
especially  applied  to  Mt.  Shasta.  Its  former 
spelling  was  Wai-ri-ka.  Here  is  a  contradiction 
between  scientists. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  LIST 

Agua  Caliente  (hot  water,  hot  springs),  a  vil- 
lage in  Sonoma  County,  forty-five  miles  north  of 
San  Francisco. 

Alturas  (heights),  the  county-seat  of  Modoc 
County,  110  miles  north  of  Reno. 

Point  Arena  (sandy  point)  is  the  name  of  the 
cape  on  the  Mendocino  coast,  and  of  the  village 
in  that  county,  110  miles  northwest  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. 

Bodega,  a  surname,  that  of  its  discoverer,  Don 
263 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


Juan  de  la  Bodega  y  Quadra,  Captain  of  the 
schooner  Sonora,  who  sailed  into  Bodega  Bay 
October  3,  1775.  This  bay,  and  the  town  of 
Bodega  Roads  are  in  Sonoma  County,  about 
sixty-four  miles  northwest  of  San  Francisco. 

Governor  Alvarado  held  the  peculiar  theory 
that  this  place  was  named  in  reference  to  the 
wine  cellars  (bodegas)  which  were  common 
there  during  the  period  of  the  Russian  occupa- 
tion, but  the  resemblance  between  this  word  and 
the  name  of  the  discoverer  is  purely  accidental. 
The  origin  of  the  name  is  thoroughly  authenti- 
cated in  the  Spanish  documents,  including  Pa- 
lou's  Noticias,  and  the  bay  is  honored  in  bearing 
the  name  of  one  of  the  bravest  navigators  that 
ever  sailed  the  Southern  Sea — Juan  Francisco 
de  la  Bodega. 

Point  Cabrillo,  a  surname,  that  of  the  cele- 
brated Spanish  explorer,  Juan  Rodriguez  Ca- 
brillo. 

Calistoga,  one  of  those  hybrid  words  of  which 
California  has  too  many.  This  word  was  the 
invention  of  Samuel  Brannan,  an  early  settler, 
and  is  compounded  of  the  first  syllable  of  Cali- 
fornia and  the  last  of  Saratoga.  It  is  given  here 
lest  it  be  mistaken  for  Indian  or  Spanish. 

Cazadero  (hunting-place) . 

Chileno  (Chilean,  native  of  Chile). 
264 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


Punta  Delgada  (thin  or  narrow  point).  See 
Punta  Gorda. 

Cape  Fortunas  (adventures)  was  so  named  by 
Ferrelo  in  1543  on  account  of  experiencing  there 
a  great  gale  of  wind. 

Del  Norte  (of  the  north)  is  the  name  of  the 
county  in  the  extreme  northwestern  corner  of 
the  state. 

Garcia  (a  surname),  the  name  of  a  creek  in 
Mendocino  County. 

Punta  Gorda  (thick  or  broad  point).  Punta 
Gorda  and  Punta  Delgada  are  adjacent  points 
on  the  northern  coast  whose  contrast  in  shape  is 
indicated  by  their  names.  See  Punta  Delgada. 

Gualala,  a  village  in  Mendocino  County,  forty 
miles  west  of  Cloverdale.  This  is  an  Indian 
word,  "probably  from  walali,  a  generic  term  of 
the  Porno  language,  signifying  the  meeting-place 
of  the  waters  of  any  in-flowing  stream  with 
those  of  the  stream  into  which  it  flows,  or  with 
the  ocean.  The  present  spelling  is  probably  in- 
fluenced by  the  Spanish." — (S.  A.  Barrett,  in 
California  Publications  of  Archaeology  and  Eth- 
nology.) 

Hoopa,  a  village  in  Humboldt  County,  on  the 
Trinity  River,  was  named  for  the  Hupa  Indians, 
a  tribe  on  the  lower  Trinity  River.  Hoopa 
Mountain  was  named  in  the  same  way. 

265 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


Point  Laguna  (lagoon  point). 

Oro  Fino  (fine  gold)  is  the  name  of  a  village  in 
Siskiyou  County,  twenty-five  miles  southwest  of 
Yreka.  This  name  is  in  contrast  to  the  place 
called  Oro  Grande  (coarse  gold)  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  state. 

Petaluma,  the  name  of  a  town  in  Sonoma 
County,  forty-two  miles  northwest  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. Petaluma  was  the  name  of  an  Indian 
village  situated  near  the  site  of  the  present  town 
on  a  low  hill,  and  according  to  S.  A.  Barrett  the 
word  is  compounded  of  peta  (flat)  and  luma 
(back),  making  Petaluma  (flat  back),  but  Dr. 
Vallejo  has  another  explanation  of  its  meaning. 
He  holds  that  the  suffix  ma  means  "valley"  or 
"land,"  and  that  Petaluma  is  a  combination  of 
three  Suysun  words,  Pe-talu-ma,  signifying  "Oh ! 
fair  valley,"  or  "Oh!  fair  land." — (Memoirs  of 
the  Vallejos,  edited  by  James  H.  Wilkins,  San 
Francisco  Bulletin,  January,  1914.) 

Professor  Kroeber  says:  "Petaluma  is  a  Coast 
Miwok  Indian  name  meaning  'flat  back,'  no 
doubt  from  the  appearance  of  the  elevation  on 
which  the  village  was  situated." 

Porno  is  northeast  of  Ukiah.  "Porno  was  an 
Indian  village  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Russian 
River,  in  the  southern  end  of  Potter  Valley,  a 
short  distance  south  of  the  post-office  at  Porno. 

266 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


The  word  is  an  ending,  meaning  'people  of,  vil- 
lage of.'"— (S.  A.  Barrett.) 

Tomales  Bay  is  just  north  of  Drake's  Bay,  in 
Marin  County.  The  word  is  a  Spanish  corrup- 
tion of  the  Indian  tamal  (bay). 

Ukiah  is  the  county-seat  of  Mendocino  County, 
and  is  on  the  Russian  River,  110  miles  northwest 
of  San  Francisco.  "The  word  is  said  to  be  de- 
rived from  the  Indian  yokaia,  yo  (south)  and 
ka-ia  (valley),  the  name  of  a  village  about  six 
miles  southeast  of  the  present  town  of  Ukiah." 


267 


THE 
^)  CENTRAL  VA 

>^ T-^r-^  J?x 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


XI 

THE  CENTRAL  VALLEY 
TEHAMA  COUNTY 

Tehama  County  lies  at  the  extreme  northern 
end  of  the  great  Central  Valley  of  the  state. 
There  is  a  village  of  the  same  name  in  the 
county,  on  the  Sacramento  River,  twelve  miles 
southeast  of  Red  Bluff. 

The  name  Tehama  was  derived  from  an  In- 
dian tribe,  but  the  meaning  of  it  has  not  been 
ascertained.  Two  definitions  have  been  offered : 
"high  water,"  in  reference  to  the  overflowing  of 
the  Sacramento  River,  and  "low  land,"  but  these 
may  be  among  those  attempts  to  account  for  our 
names  by  making  the  name  fit  the  circum- 
stances, a  method  which  has  resulted  in  many 
errors.  All  that  can  be  positively  stated  is  that 
the  word  is  of  Indian  origin. 

COLUSA 

Colusa  is  a  county  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
Central  Valley,  and  has  a  county-seat  of  the 

271 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


same  name,  situated  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Sacramento  River,  sixty-five  miles  northwest  of 
Sacramento. 

This  name  appears  as  Coins  on  the  land  grant 
located  at  that  place,  and  is  said  by  Powers,  in 
his  Tribes  of  California,  to  be  a  corruption  of 
Ko-ru-si,  a  tribal  name,  a  more  reasonable  ex- 
planation than  any  other  that  has  been  offered. 
General  Will  Green,  said  to  have  known  the  tribe 
well,  was  of  the  opinion  that  Colusa  meant  "the 
scratchers,"  in  allusion  to  a  strange  custom 
among  these  people  of  scratching  one  another's 
faces.  While  it  is  true  that  the  prevalence  of  this 
custom  is  mentioned  by  the  Spaniards,  Captain 
Fages  referring  to  it  in  terms  of  great  distaste, 
there  is  no  scientific  corroboration  of  that  defini- 
tion for  the  word  Colusa. 


YUBA 

Yuba  is  the  name  of  a  county  in  the  Central 
Valley,  of  Yuba  City,  the  county-seat  of  Sutler 
County,  and  of  the  Yuba  River,  which  is  formed 
by  the  union  of  three  branches  rising  in  the 
Sierra  Nevada. 

The  name  Yuba  was  first  applied  to  the  river, 
the  chief  tributary  of  the  Feather.  The  theory 

272 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


has  been  advanced  that  it  received  the  name  of 
Uba,  or  Uva,  the  Spanish  word  for  grapes,  from 
an  exploring  party  in  1824,  in  reference  to  the 
immense  quantities  of  vines  loaded  with  wild 
grapes  growing  along  its  banks,  Uba,  becoming 
corrupted  into  Yuba,  but  Powers,  in  his  Tribes  of 
California,  says  Yuba  is  derived  from  a  tribe  of 
Maidu  Indians  named  Yu-ba,  who  lived  on  the 
Feather  River.  This  is  probably  the  true  explan- 
ation of  the  name.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  Fremont, 
in  his  Memoirs,  speaks  of  it  as  Indian:  "We 
traveled  across  the  valley  plain,  and  in  about 
sixteen  miles  reached  Feather  River,  at  twenty 
miles  from  its  junction  with  the  Sacramento, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Yuba,  so  called  from  a 
village  of  Indians  who  live  on  it.  The  Indians 
aided  us  across  the  river  with  canoes  and  small 
rafts.  Extending  along  the  bank  in  front  of  the 
village  was  a  range  of  wicker  cribs,  about  twelve 
feet  high,  partly  filled  with  what  is  there  the 
Indians'  staff  of  life,  acorns.  A  collection  of 
huts,  shaped  like  bee-hives,  with  naked  Indians 
sunning  themselves  on  the  tops,  and  these  acorn 
cribs,  are  the  prominent  objects  in  an  Indian 
village." 


273 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


YOLO 

Yolo  is  the  name  of  a  county  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  Central  Valley,  and  of  a  village  near 
Woodland. 

Yolo,  or  Yoloy,  was  the  name  of  a  Patwin 
tribe,  and  the  word  is  said  by  the  Bureau  of 
Ethnology  to  mean  "a  place  abounding  with 
rushes." 

In  1884  there  were  still  forty-five  of  the  tribe 
living  in  Yolo  County. 


SOLANO 

This  county,  situated  in  the  Central  Valley, 
immediately  northeast  of  San  Francisco,  was 
named,  at  the  request  of  General  Mariano 
Vallejo,  in  honor  of  an  Indian  chief  of  the  Sui- 
sunes  who  had  aided  him  in  war  against  the 
other  natives.  The  name  of  this  chief  in  his  own 
tongue  is  said  to  have  been  Sem  Yeto,  "the 
Fierce  one  of  the  Brave  Hand,"  or  Sum-yet-ho, 
"the  Mighty  Arm,"  and,  judging  by  the  descrip- 
tion given  of  him  by  Dr.  Vallejo,  he  must  have 
been  a  living  refutation  of  the  common  belief 

274 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


that  the  California  Indians  were  invariably 
squat  and  ill-formed,  for  he  was  a  splendid 
figure  of  a  man,  six  feet,  seven  inches  in  height 
and  large  in  proportion.  He  was  converted  to 
Christianity  and  received  the  name  of  the  cele- 
brated missionary,  Francisco  Solano,  as  well  as 
a  grant  of  land  containing  17,752  acres,  known 
as  the  Suisiin  Grant. 


SUISUN 

Suisiin  Bay  is  a  body  of  navigable  water  con- 
nected with  San  Pablo  Bay  by  the  Carquinez 
Strait,  and  is  the  outlet  of  the  San  Joaquin  and 
Sacramento  Rivers.  Suisiin  City  is  in  Solano 
County,  on  a  slough,  about  fifty  miles  northeast 
of  San  Francisco.  Suisiin  was  the  name  of  an 
Indian  village  on  that  bay,  and  the  word  is  said 
by  some  persons  to  mean  a  "big  expanse."  The 
name  was  probably  first  given  to  the  land  grant. 

This  region  was  the  home  of  an  important 
tribe  of  Indians  who  had  an  interesting  and 
tragic  history.  Their  religious  capital,  if  such 
it  could  be  called,  was  at  Napa,  near  which 
place  there  was  a  certain  stone  from  which 

275 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


they  believed  one  of  their  gods  had  ascended 
into  upper  air,  leaving  the  impress  of  his  foot 
upon  the  stone.  General  Vallejo  says  that  in 
1817  a  military  expedition  under  command  of 
Lieutenant  Jose  Sanchez  crossed  the  straits  of 
Carquinez  on  rafts,  for  the  double  purpose  of 
exploring  the  country  and  reducing  it  to  Chris- 
tianity. "On  crossing  the  river  they  were  at- 
tacked by  the  Suisun  tribe,  headed  by  their 
chief  Malaca,  and  the  Spaniards  suffered  con- 
siderable loss;  the  Indians  fought  bravely,  but 
were  forced  to  retire  to  their  rancheria,  where, 
being  hotly  pursued,  and  believing  their  fate 
sealed,  these  unfortunate  people,  incited  by 
their  chief,  set  fire  to  their  own  rush-built  huts, 
and  perished  in  the  flames  with  their  families. 
The  soldiers  endeavored  to  stay  their  desperate 
resolution,  in  order  to  save  the  women  and 
children,  but  they  preferred  this  doom  to  that 
which  they  believed  to  await  them  at  the  hands 
of  their  enemies."  The  Suisun  tribe  is  now  en- 
tirely extinct,  a  large  number  having  been  car- 
ried off  by  a  frightful  epidemic  of  smallpox. 
Dr.  Vallejo  states  that  this  tribe,  a  people  de- 
scribed by  him  as  possessing  many  attractive 
qualities,  was  estimated  by  his  father  to  number 
at  least  40,000  persons  in  1835.  After  the  great 
epidemic,  which  was  brought  down  by  the  Rus- 

276 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


sians  from  the  north,  and  which  lasted  during 
the  three  consecutive  years  of  1837-38-39,  there 
were  barely  two  hundred  left.  Thus  the  dis- 
appearance of  the  California  Indians  was  occa- 
sioned, not  by  the  white  man's  bullets  or  fire- 
water, nor  even  by  the  deteriorating  influence 
of  a  changed  mode  of  living,  nor  by  the  loss  of 
native  sturdiness  through  an  acquired  depend- 
ence upon  the  church,  but  suddenly  and  fear- 
fully by  the  introduction  of  the  hideous  diseases 
of  civilization. 

SACRAMENTO 

Sacramento  County  and  the  city  of  the  same 
name,  the  state  capital,  situated  near  the  center 
of  the  Great  Valley,  received  their  names  from 
the  river,  which,  following  the  usual  custom  of 
the  Spaniards,  was  christened  first,  being  named 
in  honor  of  the  Holy  Sacrament. 

In  1808  Lieutenant  Gabriel  Moraga  led  an  ex- 
pedition to  what  is  now  known  as  the  Feather 
River,  which  he  called  the  Sacramento,  and  as 
he  called  the  great  river  which  it  joins  farther 
down  by  the  same  name,  it  is  evident  that  he 
regarded  the  two  as  composing  the  main 
stream.  When  he  later  came  to  what  is  now 
known  as  the  Upper  Sacramento  he  considered 

277 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


it  to  be  a  branch,  which  he  called  Jesus  Maria, 
a  name  it  long  retained  for  that  part  of  its 
course.  For  this  conclusion  he  had  some  justi- 
fication in  the  fact  that  at  the  point  where  the 
Sacramento  and  the  Feather  come  together  it 
is  the  latter  which  makes  a  straight  course 
north  and  south  with  the  lower  Sacramento, 
whereas  the  upper  Sacramento  flows  in  at  that 
point  from  the  west. 


COSUMNE 

Cosumne  is  the  name  of  a  village  in  Sacra- 
mento County,  about  twenty-two  miles  south- 
east of  Sacramento.  The  Cosumne  River  rises 
in  El  Dorado  County,  near  the  Sierra  Nevada, 
and  enters  the  Mokelumne  about  twenty-five 
miles  south  of  the  city  of  Sacramento. 

Cosumne  is  an  Indian  word,  said  to  mean 
"salmon,"  and  was  taken  from  the  tribe  who 
lived  upon  the  river.  The  frequent  occurrence 
of  the  ending  amni,  or  umne,  in  the  names  of 
rivers  in  the  Sierras  has  led  to  the  mistaken  con- 
clusion that  the  suffix  actually  means  "river," 
but  we  have  the  statement  of  A.  L.  Kroeber, 
Professor  of  Anthropology  in  the  University  of 
California,  that,  "The  supposition  may  be  haz- 

278 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


arded  that  the  ending  amni,  or  umne,  is  origin- 
ally a  Miwok  ending,  with  the  meaning  'people 
of.' '  Thus  the  meaning  of  Cosumne  may  be 
"people  of  the  village  of  Coso,"  and  of  Mokel- 
umne,  "people  of  the  village  of  Mukkel,"  and  so 
on  through  all  the  names  having  this  ending. 

Powers,  in  his  Tribes  of  California,  says  Kos- 
sum-mi  was  the  Indian  word  for  "salmon,"  and 
that  this  is  the  probable  origin  of  the  name 
Cosumne. 

The  Bureau  of  Ethnology  has  an  interesting 
paragraph  on  the  manners  and  customs  of  these 
Indians:  "They  went  almost  naked;  their  houses 
were  of  bark,  sometimes  thatched  with  grass, 
and  covered  with  earth;  the  bark  was  loosened 
from  the  trees  by  repeated  blows  with  stone 
hatchets,  the  latter  having  the  head  fastened  to 
the  handle  with  deer  sinews.  Their  ordinary 
weapons  were  bows  and  stone-tipped  arrows. 
The  women  made  finely-woven  conical  baskets 
of  grass,  the  smaller  ones  of  which  held  water. 
Their  amusements  were  chiefly  dancing  and 
foot-ball;  the  dances,  however,  were  in  some 
degree  ceremonial.  Their  principal  deity  was 
the  sun,  and  the  women  had  a  ceremony  which 
resembled  the  'sun  dance'  of  the  tribes  of  the 
upper  Missouri.  Their  dead  were  buried  in 
graves  in  the  earth.  The  tribe  is  now  practically 

279 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


extinct." — (Quoted  from  Rice,  in  American  An- 
thropology, III,  259,  1890.) 

SAN  JOAQUIN 

San  Joaquin  County,  famous  for  its  vast  fields 
of  wheat,  is  a  part  of  the  great  Central  Valley, 
and  the  river  of  the  same  name  rises  in  the 
Sierras,  flows  north-northwest  through  the  val- 
ley and  unites  with  the  Sacramento  River  near 
its  mouth. 

The  river  was  named  in  honor  of  St.  Joachim, 
the  father  of  the  Virgin.  Lieutenant  Moraga 
first  gave  the  name  to  a  rivulet  which  springs 
from  the  Sierra  Nevada,  and  empties  into  Lake 
Buena  Vista.  The  river  derived  its  name  from 
this  rivulet. 

The  rich  valley  of  the  San  Joaquin,  two  hun- 
dred miles  long  and  thirty  miles  wide,  with  its 
wide,  treeless  expanses  where  the  wild  grasses 
grew  rankly,  was  once  a  paradise  for  game. 
Fremont  says :  "Descending  the  valley  we  trav- 
eled among  multitudinous  herds  of  elk,  ante- 
lope, and  wild  horses.  Several  of  the  latter 
which  we  killed  for  food  were  found  to  be  very 
fat."  Herds  of  wild  horses  still  range  in  Cali- 
fornia and  Nevada,  and  are  sometimes  captured 
for  sale,  fine  specimens  bringing  high  prices. 

280 


EL  RIO  DE  LOS  SANTOS  REYES  (THE  RIVER  OF 

THE  HOLY  KINGS) 
"  *  •  *  named  in  honor  of  the  three  wise  men." 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


STANISLAUS 

Stanislaus  is  the  name  of  the  county  just 
south  of  San  Joaquin,  and  of  one  of  the  tribu- 
taries of  the  San  Joaquin  River.  The  Stanislaus 
River,  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  streams 
which  take  their  rise  in  the  wild  and  pictur- 
esque region  of  the  higher  peaks  of  the  Sierras, 
descends  to  the  plains  through  rock-bound 
canons  and  joins  the  San  Joaquin  in  the  cen- 
tral trough  of  the  valley.  It  is  the  scene  of  Bret 
Harte's  humorous  poem,  The  Society  Upon  the 
Stanislaus. 

The  word  Stanislaus  is  said  to  be  derived 
from  an  Indian  chief  of  that  region,  who  be- 
came Christianized  and  was  baptized  under  the 
Spanish  name  of  Estanislao.  He  was  educated 
at  Mission  San  Jose,  but  became  a  renegade, 
and  incited  his  tribe  against  the  Spaniards.  In 
1826  he  was  defeated  in  a  fierce  battle  on  the 
banks  of  the  river  now  bearing  his  name.  An- 
other theory  is  that  the  river  was  first  named 
by  the  Spaniards  for  Saint  Stanislaus,  and,  fol- 
lowing the  usual  course  of  procedure,  the  name 
was  afterwards  applied  to  the  county.  There 
were  two  saints  bearing  this  name,  both  of 

281 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


Polish  origin.  Stanislaus  Kostka  was  born  in 
Poland  in  1550,  and  is  one  of  the  favorite  saints 
of  that  country.  He  was  canonized  for  his  saintly 
character,  and  is  invoked  for  palpitations  of  the 
heart  and  dangerous  illnesses.  Stanislaus  of 
Cracow  was  born  in  1030.  He  is  the  patron  saint 
of  Poland,  and  is  invoked  in  battle.  He  suffered 
a  violent  death  at  the  hands  of  King  Boleslaw, 
whom  he  had  reproved  for  his  dissolute  life. 

Fremont  thus  describes  the  scenery  along  the 
Stanislaus:  "Issuing  from  the  woods,  we  rode 
about  sixteen  miles  over  open  prairie  partly 
covered  with  bunch  grass,  the  timber  reappear- 
ing on  the  rolling  hills  of  the  River  Stanislaus, 
in  the  usual  belt  of  evergreen  oaks.  The  level 
valley  was  about  forty  feet  below  the  upland, 
and  the  stream  seventy  yards  broad,  with  the 
usual  fertile  bottom  land  which  was  covered 
with  green  grass  among  large  oaks.  We  en- 
camped in  one  of  these  bottoms,  in  a  grove  of 
the  large  white  oaks  previously  mentioned." 


MERCED 

Merced  (mercy)  is  the  name  of  the  county 
south  of  Stanislaus,  of  its  own  principal  stream, 
and  of  its  county-seat.  The  river  was  named  by 

282 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


the  Spaniards,  in  honor  of  the  Virgin,  El  Rio  de 
Nuestra  Senora  de  la  Merced  (the  river  of  our 
Lady  of  Mercy).  This  name  was  given  to  the 
stream  by  an  exploring  party  under  Sergeant 
Gabriel  Moraga  in  1806,  as  an  expression  of 
their  joy  and  gratitude  at  the  sight  of  its  spark- 
ling waters,  after  an  exhausting  journey  of  forty 
miles  through  a  waterless  country. 

According  to  Fremont,  this  stream  was  called 
Auxumne  by  the  Indians:  "In  about  seventeen 
miles  we  reached  the  Auxumne  River,  called  by 

the  Mexicans  Merced We  encamped  on 

the  southern  side  of  the  river,  where  broken 
hills  made  a  steep  bluff,  with  a  narrow  bottom. 
On  the  northern  side  was  a  low  undulating 
wood  and  prairie  land,  over  which  a  band  of 
about  three  hundred  elk  was  slowly  coming  to 
water,  feeding  as  they  approached." 

The  Merced  River  is  notable  in  that  it  flows 
along  the  floor  of  the  Yosemite  Valley.  Like  all 
the  other  streams  that  have  their  rise  in  the 
Sierras,  its  character  in  its  upper  and  lower 
reaches  is  vastly  dissimilar.  In  the  days  of  its 
turbulent  youth  it  is  a  wild  and  boisterous 
stream,  and  in  the  voice  of  its  hissing,  roaring 
waters  the  wayfarer  hears  no  sound  of  "mercy," 
but  after  it  makes  its  tremendous  plunge  down 
the  western  slope  of  the  Sierras,  and  debouches 

283 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


upon  the  floor  of  the  valley,  it  takes  on  a  serene 
air  of  maturity,  and  widens  into  a  placid  river, 
its  current  flowing  sluggishly  between  low,  level 
banks. 

MADERA  COUNTY 

Madera  (wood,  timber)  is  the  name  of  the 
county  to  the  southwest  of  Stanislaus.  It  occu- 
pies a  stretch  of  fertile  land,  and  was  called 
Madera  by  the  Spaniards  on  account  of  its  heavy 
growth  of  timber. 

FRESNO  COUNTY 

Fresno  (ash-tree),  so  called  in  reference  to 
the  abundance  of  those  trees  in  that  region,  is 
the  name  of  a  county  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley, 
in  the  heart  of  the  grain  and  fruit  country. 
Raisins  and  wine  are  its  especial  products.  Its 
capital  city  and  principal  stream  also  bear  the 
name  of  Fresno. 

KINGS  COUNTY 

This  county,  now  appearing  under  its  English 
form,  originally  received  its  name  from  the 

284 


IN  THE  SIERRA  NEVADAS 
'East  Vidette,  the  Alps  of  the  King-Kern  divide." 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


river,  which  was  discovered  by  a,  Spanish  ex- 
ploring party  in  1805,  and  called  by  them  El 
Rio  de  los  Santos  Reyes  (the  river  of  the  Holy 
Kings),  in  honor  of  the  "three  wise  men." 

A  considerable  part  of  the  area  of  this  county 
was  at  one  tune  covered  by  Tulare  Lake,  but 
the  shrinkage  of  that  body  of  water  through  the 
withdrawal  of  its  sources  of  supply  has  added 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  territory  occupied  by 
its  waters  to  the  arable  land  of  the  county.  This 
subject  is  further  discussed  under  the  head  of 
Tulare. 

The  river  seems  to  have  been  known  at  one 
time  as  the  Lake  Fork,  by  which  name  Fremont 
mentions  it  in  the  following  paragraph:  "We 
crossed  an  open  plain  still  in  a  southeasterly 
direction,  reaching  in  about  twenty  miles  the 
Tulare  Lake  river.  This  is  the  Lake  Fork,  one 
of  the  largest  and  handsomest  streams  in  the 
valley,  being  about  one  hundred  yards  broad, 
and  having  perhaps  a  larger  body  of  fertile 
lands  than  any  of  the  others.  It  is  called  by  the 
Mexicans  El  Rio  de  los  Reyes.  The  broad  allu- 
vial bottoms  were  well  wooded  with  several 
species  of  oaks.  This  is  the  principal  affluent  of 
the  Tulare  Lake,  a  strip  of  water  which  receives 
all  the  rivers  in  the  upper  or  southern  end  of 
the  valley." 

287 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


TULARE  COUNTY 

Tulare  (place  of  tules,  or  rushes)  is  the  name 
of  a  county  in  the  south-central  part  of  the  state, 
of  Tulare  Lake  in  Kings  County,  and  of  a  town 
in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley.  The  county  is  re- 
markable for  the  high  mountain  peaks  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada,  on  its  northeast  border.  Among 
these  is  Mount  Whitney,  about  14,500  feet  in 
height. 

Tulare  Lake,  in  Kings  County,  at  one  time 
filled  a  shallow  depression  about  thirty  miles 
in  length,  and  received  through  a  number  of 
small  streams  the  drainage  from  the  southern 
part  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  soon  losing  the 
greater  part  of  this  water  by  evaporation.  It  is 
now  practically  dry,  as  a  result  of  the  with- 
drawal for  irrigation  purposes  of  Kings  and 
Kern  rivers,  and  the  territory  formerly  covered 
by  it  has  been  to  a  great  extent  placed  under 
cultivation.  The  lake  was  discovered  in  1773 
by  Commandant  Pages,  while  hunting  for  de- 
serters from  the  presidio  at  Monterey,  and  called 
by  him  Los  Tules  (the  rushes),  from  the  great 
number  of  those  plants  with  which  it  was  filled. 
In  1813  Captain  Mora*ga  passed  through  the 

288 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


valley  of  this  lake,  and  named  it  Vallc  de  los 
Tales  (valley  of  the  rushes). 

The  Tulare  Indians  exhibited  both  more  cour- 
age and  more  ingenuity  than  was  usual  among 
the  tribes  of  California,  and  the  Spaniards  had 
more  than  one  lively  fight  with  them.  On  one 
of  these  occasions,  the  Indians,  seeing  them- 
selves worsted,  retired  into  the  tules  on  the  river 
bank,  where  they  remained  hidden.  The  Span- 
iards, not  wishing  to  expose  themselves  to  un- 
necessary danger;  surrounded  the  place  and 
waited  for  hunger  to  drive  the  enemy  out,  but 
the  Indians  concocted  a  cunning  scheme  by 
which  they  made  good  their  escape.  With  un- 
expected skill,  they  constructed  some  manikins 
of  the  tules  and  then  tossed  them,  unseen,  into 
the  current  of  the  river.  When  these  imitation 
men  floated  into  the  view  of  the  Spaniards  they 
took  them  for  the  Indians  trying  to  swim  down 
stream,  and  so  followed  after  them  along  the 
bank,  shooting  as  they  ran.  Meanwhile  the  In- 
dians quietly  decamped  in  the  other  direction. 

The  Tularenos  were  in  the  habit  of  going 
across  the  mountains  to  the  coast  for  abalones, 
and  it  was  their  custom  when  on  these  trips  to 
mark  their  trails  to  those  coming  after  by  plac- 
ing stones  on  the  ground  in  the  shape  of  a  "v," 
the  apex  indicating  the  direction  in  which  they 

289 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


were  traveling.  These  sign-posts  of  the  old  In- 
dian trails  are  still  occasionally  found  in  the 
mountains  of  that  region,  and  no  doubt  many  a 
wayfarer  has  wondered  about  their  meaning. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  LIST 

Acampo  (common  pasture)  is  the  name  of  a 
village  in  San  Joaquin  County.  See  Final  Index. 

Arroyo  Buenos  Aires  (creek  of  the  good  airs) 
is  in  San  Joaquin  County. 

Caliente  (hot)  is  the  name  of  a  town  in  Kern 
County. 

Chico  (little)  is  the  name  of  a  town  in  Butte 
County,  ninety-six  miles  north  of  Sacramento. 
This  place  derives  its  name  from  the  Rancho 
Chico  (the  little  ranch),  of  which  General  John 
Bidwell  was  the  original  grantee.  The  Arroyo 
Chico  and  the  town  both  took  their  names  from 
the  ranch. —  (Mr.  Charles  B.  Turrill.) 

Chowchilla,  a  large  ranch  in  the  San  Joaquin 
Valley,  takes  its  name  from  the  Chowchilla  In- 
dians, a  branch  of  the  Moquelumnan  family. 
Fremont  refers  to  this  name  under  a  somewhat 
different  spelling:  "The  springs  and  streams 
hereabout  were  waters  of  the  Chauchiles  and 

290 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


Mariposas  rivers,  and  the  Indians  of  this  village 
belonged  to  the  Chanchiles  tribe." 

Dos  Palos  (two  sticks,  or  trees)  is  in  Merced 
County,  twenty  miles  southwest  of  Merced. 

Esparto  (feather-grass)  is  a  town  in  Yolo 
County. 

Esperanza  (hope)  is  in  Kings  County,  west  of 
Lake  Tulare. 

Hornitos  (little  ovens)  is  in  Mariposa  County, 
sixteen  miles  northwest  of  Mariposa.  Two  theo- 
ries have  been  advanced  for  this  name.  One  is 
that  it  was  given  by  some  Mexican  settlers  on 
account  of  the  extreme  heat  there;  the  other, 
and  the  one  most  commonly  accepted  by  the 
residents  of  the  place,  is  that  it  was  so  called 
by  the  Mexicans  in  reference  to  a  number  of 
bake  ovens  made  of  rock  and  mud  which  were 
built  there  in  the  early  fifties  by  a  company  of 
German  miners.  Hornos  (ovens),  of  brick  and 
adobe,  built  out-of-doors,  and  used  to  bake  the 
bread  for  several  families,  were  in  very  com- 
mon use  among  the  first  Spanish  settlers  of  Cali- 
fornia. Ovens  were  also  used  by  the  Indians, 
for,  instead  of  eating  their  food  raw  or  imper- 
fectly cooked,  they  used  quite  elaborate  methods 
in  its  preparation.  Their  ovens  are  thus  de- 
scribed in  the  Handbook  of  American  Indians, 
by  Dr.  Pliny  E.  Goddard,  of  the  American  Mu- 

291 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


seum  of  Natural  History:  "The  pit  oven,  con- 
sisting of  a  hole  excavated  in  the  ground,  heated 
with  fire,  and  then  filled  with  food,  which  was 
covered  over  and  allowed  to  cook,  was  general 
in  America,  though  as  a  rule  it  was  employed 
only  occasionally,  and  principally  for  cooking 
vegetal  substances.  This  method  of  cooking  was 
found  necessary  to  render  acrid  or  poisonous 
foods  harmless,  and  starchy  foods  saccharine, 
and  as  a  preliminary  in  drying  and  preserving 
food  for  winter  use.  Most  of  the  acorn-consum- 
ing Indians  of  California  cooked  acorn  mush 
in  small  sand-pits.  The  soap-root  was  made 
palatable  by  cooking  it  in  an  earth-covered 
heap.  The  Hupa  cook  the  same  plant  for  about 
two  days  in  a  large  pit  lined  with  stones,  in 
which  a  hot  fire  is  maintained  until  the  stones 
and  surrounding  earth  are  well  heated;  the  fire 
is  then  drawn,  the  pit  lined  with  leaves  of  wild 
grape  and  wood  sorrel  to  improve  the  flavor  of 
the  bulbs,  and  a  quantity  of  the  bulbs  thrown 
in;  leaves  are  then  placed  on  top,  the  whole  is 
covered  with  earth,  and  a  big  fire  built  on  top." 
Mr.  Charles  B.  Turrill  states  that  "the  meal  of 
the  ground  acorns  was  placed  in  shallow  hol- 
lows in  the  sand  and  water  poured  on  it,  by 
which  means  the  bitter  principle  was  leached 
out.  Then  the  meal  was  placed  in  baskets  and 

292 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


cooked  by  putting  hot  stones  therein.  The  cook- 
ing was  done  in  the  basket,  not  in  the  sand." 
Other  Indians  used  pit  ovens  for  baking  clams, 
and  the  Panamints  of  California  roasted  cactus 
joints  and  mescal  in  pits.  The  Pueblo  Indians 
used  dome-shaped  ovens  of  stone  plastered  with 
clay,  a  form  that  may  have  been  imitated  by 
the  Spaniards,  since  their  ovens  were  of  that 
character. 

Modesto  (modest)  is  the  county-seat  of  Stan- 
islaus County,  and  is  thirty  miles  south  of  Stock- 
ton. According  to  residents  of  this  town,  "The 
place  was  first  named  Ralston  in  the  year  1870, 
in  honor  of  Mr.  Ralston,  who  was  then  a  very 
prominent  resident  of  San  Francisco,  and  presi- 
dent of  the  Bank  of  California.  He  was  so  mod- 
est that  he  preferred  that  some  other  name  be 
adopted,  so  the  name  was  changed  to  Modesto." 
If  this  be  the  true  story,  it  was  surely  a  unique 
reason  for  the  naming  of  a  town. 

Oroville  (goldtown)  is  a  hybrid  word  made 
up  of  the  Spanish  oro  (gold)  and  the  French 
ville  (town).  Oroville  is  the  county-seat  of  Butte 
County,  and  is  on  the  Feather  River,  in  the 
heart  of  a  mining  and  fruit  region. 

Rio  Vista  (river  view)  is  in  Sola  no  County,  on 
the  Sacramento  River.  Modern.  Incorrect  con- 
struction. It  should  be  Vista  del  Rio. 

295 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


Tehachapi,  an  Indian  word  of  which  the  mean- 
ing has  not  been  ascertained,  is  the  name  of  the 
mountain  pass  in  Kern  County  across  the  Sierra 
Nevada,  of  which  it  approximately  marks  the 
southern  limit,  and  of  a  town  in  the  same 
county,  thirty-five  miles  southeast  of  Bakers- 
field. 

"In  the  famous  Tahichapah  Pass  was  a  tribe 
called  by  themselves  Ta-hi-cha-pa-han-na,  and 
by  the  Kern  Indians  Ta-hich.  This  tribe  is  now 
extinct." — (Powers'  Tribes  of  California.) 

Vacaville  is  situated  in  a  beautiful  and  fertile 
valley  in  Solano  County.  It  received  its  name 
from  a  family  named  Vaca,  who  were  at  one 
time  prominent  in  that  region.  Manuel  Vaca, 
the  founder  of  the  family,  was  a  native  of  New 
Mexico,  and  came  to  California  in  1841.  "He 
was  a  hospitable  man  of  good  repute." 


290 


THE  SIERRAS 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


XII 

IN  THE  SIERRAS 
THE  SIERRA  NEVADA 

The  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  California's 
wonder-land,  derive  their  name  from  sierra, 
saw,  and  nevada,  snowy, — descriptive  of  the 
saw-toothed  outlines  of  the  summits  of  the 
range,  and  the  mantle  of  perpetual  snow  that 
covers  the  highest  tops. 

The  term  Sierra  Madre,  absurdly  translated 
by  some  persons  as  "Mother  of  Christ,"  means, 
of  course,  "Mother  Sierra,"  that  is,  the  largest 
mountain  range  personified  as  the  mother  of 
the  smaller  ranges. 

"The  Sierra  Nevada  is  generally  considered  to 
extend  from  Tehachapi  Pass  in  the  south  to 
Lassen  Peak  in  the  north,  and  constitutes  the 
dividing  ridge  between  the  great  basin  on  the 
east,  to  which  it  falls  abruptly,  and  the  San 
Joaquin  and  Sacramento  Valleys  on  the  west. 
It  is  characterized  by  deep  and  narrow  valleys, 
with  almost  vertical  walls  of  rock  thousands  of 
feet  in  height,  and  its  scenery  is  of  surpassing 

299 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


grandeur,  much  more  imposing  than  that  of  the 
Rockies.  Many  of  its  higher  summits  are  cov- 
ered with  perpetual  snow." — (Lippincott's  Gaz- 
etteer.) 

PIT  RIVER 

Among  the  many  tributary  streams  that  carry 
the  waters  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  down  the  west- 
ern slope  into  the  Sacramento,  the  Pit,  often 
incorrectly  spelled  Pitt,  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant, and,  although  not  properly  belonging  in 
these  pages,  is  included  for  the  sake  of  the 
information  to  be  gained  concerning  Indian 
customs. 

The  natives  along  this  river  were  in  the  habit 
of  digging  pits  near  the  banks  to  catch  bear  and 
deer,  and,  on  occasion,  even  their  human  ene- 
mies. The  pits  were  dug  in  the  regular  trails  of 
animals,  twelve  to  fourteen  feet  deep,  conical  in 
shape,  with  a  small  opening  at  the  top,  covered 
with  brush  and  earth.  Signs,  such  as  broken 
twigs,  were  placed  as  a  warning  to  their  own 
people,  and  sharp  stakes  were  placed  in  the 
bottom  to  impale  any  creature  that  might  fall 
in.  Another  account  of  this  custom  is  given  in 
Miller's  Life  Among  the  Modocs:  "Pits  from  ten 
to  fifteen  feet  deep  were  dug,  in  which  natives 

300 


EL,  RIO  DB  LAS  PLUM  AS  (FEATHER  RIVER) 

'To  this  day  the  valley  of  the  Feather  is  a  favorite  haunt  for 

wild  ducks  and  geese." 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


caught  man  and  beast.  These  man-traps,  for 
such  was  their  primary  use,  were  small  at  the 
mouth,  widening  toward  the  bottom,  so  that 
exit  was  impossible,  even  were  the  victim  to 
escape  impalement  upon  sharpened  elk  and 
deer  horns,  which  were  favorably  placed  for 
his  reception.  The  opening  was  craftily  con- 
cealed by  means  of  light  sticks,  over  which  earth 
was  scattered,  and  the  better  to  deceive  the  un- 
wary, travelers'  footprints  were  frequently 
stamped  with  a  moccasin  in  the  loose  soil."  It 
was  from  these  Indian  pits  that  the  river  re- 
ceived its  name. 


PLUMAS 

Plumas  (feathers)  is  the  name  of  a  county  in 
the  northeastern  part  of  the  state.  It  is  drained 
by  the  Feather  River,  which  flows  through  one 
of  the  deepest  and  most  picturesque  canyons  in 
California.  The  county  is  characterized  by  its 
wild  and  rugged  scenery,  its  deep  canyons  and 
extensive  forests  of  evergreen  trees.  In  the 
northwest  corner  Lassen  Peak,  now  an  active 
volcano,  rises  to  a  height  of  10,437  feet. 

The  county  derives  its  name  from  its  principal 
stream,  which  now  appears  under  its  English 
form  of  The  Feather,  but  which  was  originally 

303 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


named  El  Rio  de  las  Plumas  (the  river  of  the 
Feathers),  by  Captain  Luis  A.  Argiiello,  who  led 
an  exploring  party  up  the  valley  in  1820,  and 
whose  attention  was  attracted  by  the  great  num- 
ber of  feathers  of  wild  fowl  floating  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  river.  Even  to  this  day  the  valley  of 
the  Feather  has  remained  a  favorite  haunt  of 
the  wild  ducks  and  geese,  as  will  be  attested  by 
the  many  hunters  who  seek  sport  there  during 
the  season.  By  an  inconsistency,  the  county  has 
retained  the  original  Spanish  name,  Plumas, 
while  that  of  the  river  has  been  Americanized. 
An  erroneous  and  extremely  far-fetched  ex- 
planation of  the  name  has  often  appeared  in 
print  to  the  effect  that  it  was  derived  from  a 
fancied  resemblance  between  the  spray  of  the 
river  and  a  feather. 


THE  AMERICAN  RIVER 

The  American  River,  another  of  the  names 
which  have  been  translated  from  the  original 
Spanish,  is  formed  by  three  forks  rising  in  the 
Sierra  Nevada,  and  empties  into  the  Sacramento 
at  the  site  of  the  city  of  that  name.  The  three 
branches  forming  it  run  in  deep  canyons,  some- 
times two  thousand  feet  in  depth,  and  the  scen- 

304 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


ery  along  its  course  is  of  rugged  and  striking 
character. 

The  river  was  originally  called  El  Rio  de  los 
Americanos  (the  river  of  the  Americans),  prob- 
ably from  the  presence  on  its  banks  of  a  com- 
pany of  western  trappers,  who  lived  there  from 
1822  to  1830,  and  not  "because  it  was  the  usual 
route  of  travel  by  which  Americans  entered  the 
state,"  as  is  stated  by  Bancroft  and  others. 

In  Fremont's  time  it  was  still  known  by  its 
Spanish  name,  by  which  he  refers  to  it  in  the 
following  paragraph :  "Just  then  a  well-dressed 
Indian  came  up,  and  made  his  salutations  in  very 
well-spoken  Spanish.  In  answer  to  our  inquiries 
he  informed  us  that  we  were  upon  the  Rio  de  los 
Americanos,  and  that  it  joined  the  Sacramento 
River  about  ten  miles  below.  Never  did  a  name 
sound  more  sweetly!  We  felt  ourselves  among 
our  countrymen,  for  the  name  of  American,  in 
these  distant  parts,  is  applied  to  the  citizens  of 
the  United  States." 


EL  DORADO  COUNTY 


El  Dorado  (the  gilded  man).   Although  it  is 
305 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


known  to  most  people,  in  a  vague,  general  way, 
that  the  name  El  Dorado  was  given  to  this 
county  on  account  of  the  discovery  of  gold 
there,  the  romantic  tales  connected  with  the 
name  are  probably  not  so  well  known.  The  In- 
dians of  Peru,  Venezuela,  and  New  Granada, 
perhaps  in  the  hope  of  inducing  their  oppressors 
to  move  on,  were  constantly  pointing  out  to  the 
Spaniards,  first  in  one  direction,  then  in  another, 
a  land  of  fabulous  riches.  This  land  was  said  to 
have  a  king,  who  caused  his  body  to  be  covered 
every  morning  with  gold  dust,  by  means  of  an 
odorous  resin.  Each  evening  he  washed  it  off, 
as  it  incommoded  his  sleep,  and  each  morning 
had  the  gilding  process  repeated.  From  this 
fable  the  white  men  were  led  to  believe  that  the 
country  must  be  rich  in  gold,  and  long,  costly, 
and  fruitless  expeditions  were  undertaken  in 
pursuit  of  this  phantom  of  El  Dorado.  In  time 
the  phrase  El  Dorado  came  to  be  applied  to  re- 
gions where  gold  and  other  precious  metals 
were  thought  to  be  plentiful.  According  to  Gen- 
eral Vallejo,  one  Francisco  Orellana,  a  com- 
panion of  the  adventurer  Pizarro,  wrote  a  ficti- 
tious account  of  an  El  Dorado  in  South  America, 
"a  region  of  genial  clime  and  never-fading  ver- 
dure, abounding  in  gold  and  precious  stones, 
where  wine  gushed  forth  from  never-ceasing 

306 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


springs,  wheat  fields  grew  ready-baked  loaves 
of  bread,  birds  already  roasted  flew  among  the 
trees,  and  nature  was  filled  with  harmony  and 
sweetness."  Although  old  Mother  Nature  has 
not  yet  provided  us  with  "bread  ready-baked" 
or  "birds  ready-roasted"  in  California,  her  gifts 
to  her  children  have  been  so  bountiful  that  they 
may  almost  be  compared  to  the  fabulous  tales 
of  El  Dorado,  the  gilded  man. 


PLACER  COUNTY 

Placer,  the  county  in  the  Sierras  famous  for 
its  surface  gold-mining,  has  a  puzzling  name  for 
which  no  satisfactory  explanation  has  yet  been 
found.  Although  it  has  been  used  in  Spanish 
countries  for  centuries  in  the  sense  of  surface 
mining,  dictionaries  remain  silent  upon  the  sub- 
ject. The  theory  often  advanced  that  the  word 
is  a  contraction  of  plaza  de  oro  (place  of  gold) 
bears  none  of  the  marks  of  probability,  and  an- 
other that  it  means  "a  river  where  gold  is  found" 
is  not  supported  by  adequate  authority.  One  old 
Spanish  dictionary  gives  the  meaning  of  placer 
as  "a  sea  bottom,  level  and  of  slight  depth,  of 
sand,  mud,  or  stone,"  and  states  also  that  the 
word  is  sometimes  used  to  designate  places 

309 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


where  pearl  diving  is  carried  on.  It  may  be  that 
the  word  was  extended  from  this  usage  to  in- 
clude placer  mining,  since  in  that  case  the  gold 
is  found  in  shallow  pockets  near  the  surface. 
This  theory  is  offered  here  as  a  mere  suggestion. 
Placer  County  has  some  of  the  most  striking 
mountain  scenery  in  the  state,  and  has  been  the 
theatre  of  many  remarkable  events  in  its  history, 
particularly  those  connected  with  the  "days  of 
'49."  In  the  town  of  Placerville,  the  county-seat 
of  El  Dorado  County,  there  is  an  instance  of  a 
change  of  name  from  English  to  Spanish  for  the 
better,  for  this  place  was  originally  called  Hang- 
town,  in  commemoration  of  the  hanging  of  cer- 
tain "bad  men"  on  a  tree  there. 


THE  TRUCKEE  RIVER 

The  Truckee  River  rises  on  the  borders  of  El 
Dorado  and  Placer  counties,  and  is  the  outlet  of 
Lake  Tahoe,  discharging  its  waters  into  Pyra- 
mid Lake  in  Nevada.  This  mountain  stream  is 
justly  celebrated  for  the  wild  charm  of  its  scen- 
ery. There  is  a  village  bearing  the  same  name, 
in  Nevada  County,  well-known  to  travelers 
through  being  on  the  regular  route  to  Tahoe.  At 
this  place  winter  sports,  tobogganing,  skiing, 

310 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


skating,  etc.,  are  provided  for  San  Franciscans, 
who  need  to  travel  but  a  few  hours  to  exchange 
their  clime  of  eternal  spring  for  the  deep  snows 
of  the  Sierras. 

The  explanation  generally  accepted  for  the 
name  of  Truckee  is  that  it  was  so  called  for  an 
Indian,  definitely  known  to  be  a  northern  Paiute 
chief,  who  guided  a  party  of  explorers  in  1844 
to  its  lower  crossing,  where  the  town  of  Wads- 
worth  now  stands.  The  party,  who  were  suffer- 
ing from  thirst,  felt  themselves  to  be  under  such 
obligations  to  the  Indian  for  having  guided  them 
to  this  lovely  mountain  stream,  with  its  crystal 
waters  and  abundance  of  fish,  that  they  gave  it 
his  name.  Of  this  Indian  it  is  said  that  "he  joined 
Fremont's  battalion,  and  was  afterwards  known 
as  Captain  Truckee;  he  became  a  great  favorite 
with  Fremont,  who  gave  him  a  Bible.  When  he 
died  he  asked  to  be  buried  by  white  men  in  their 
style.  The  miners  dug  a  grave  near  Como,  in  the 
croppings  of  the  old  Goliah  ledge.  Here  he  was 
laid  to  rest,  with  the  Bible  by  his  side." — (His- 
tory of  Nevada  County.) 


LAKE  TAHOE 

Tahoe  is  another  of  the  Indian  names  whose 
311 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


meaning  can  not  be  ascertained  with  any  degree 
of  certainty.  The  definition  "Big  Water,"  the 
one  usually  given,  is  considered  doubtful  by 
ethnologists.  The  statement  has  been  made  by 
intelligent  Indians  now  living  on  the  banks  of 
the  lake  that  the  word,  pronounced  Dd-o  by 
them,  means  "deep"  and  "blue."  Yet  it  is  much 
to  know  that  this  pearl  among  all  lakes  has  at 
least  been  fortunate  enough  to  receive  an  in- 
digenous name,  escaping  by  a  narrow  margin 
the  ignominious  fate  of  being  called  Lake  Bigler, 
for  a  former  governor  of  the  state.  It  appears 
that  Fremont  was  the  first  to  give  to  this  body 
of  water  a  name,  and  it  is  shown  upon  his  map 
under  the  rather  indefinite  title  of  Mountain 
Lake.  Afterward  it  was  known  for  a  short  time 
as  Lake  Bigler.  The  story  goes  that  in  1859  Dr. 
Henry  de  Groot,  while  exploring  the  mountains, 
learned  that  tah-oo-ee  meant  "a  great  deal  of 
water,"  and  from  this  Tahoe  was  evolved  as  an 
appropriate  name,  but  did  not  become  attached 
to  the  lake  until  the  period  of  the  Civil  War. 
During  that  time  the  Reverend  Thomas  Starr 
King,  the  famous  "war"  clergyman  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, visited  the  lake,  and  inspired  by  indigna- 
tion against  the  Democratic  Governor  Bigler, 
whom  he  regarded  as  a  secessionist,  he  definitely 
christened  it  Tahoe,  for  which  we  may  be  grate- 

312 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


ful  to  his  memory,  regardless  of  the  motives  by 
which  he  was  actuated. 

Tahoe  is  partly  in  Placer,  and  partly  in  El 
Dorado,  at  the  eastern  base  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada,  a  portion  of  its  waters  also  extending 
into  the  state  of  Nevada.  It  is  twenty- two  miles 
long  and  ten  wide,  and  has  an  elevation  of  6,225 
feet  above  sea  level.  It  is  especially  remarkable 
for  its  great  depth,  being  over  1,500  feet  deep. 

AMADOR  COUNTY 

Amador,  literally  "lover,"  but  in  this  case  a 
surname.  Amador  is  the  long,  narrow  county 
lying  between  Calaveras  and  El  Dorado,  and 
was  probably  named  in  honor  of  the  Amador 
family,  either  Don  Pedro  Amador,  or  his  son, 
Jose  Maria.  Pedro  Amador  is  said  to  have  been 
a  "soldier  of  fortune"  in  the  Spanish  army,  who 
came  to  California  in  1771.  His  son,  Jose  Maria, 
was  also  a  soldier  and  a  renowned  Indian 
fighter,  and  was  known  to  be  living  as  late  as 
1883. 

CALAVERAS 

Calaveras  (skulls)  is  the  name  of  a  county  in 
313 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


the  central  part  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  on  the 
eastern  border.  This  county  is  famous  for  its 
gold  and  copper  mines,  and  its  Giant  Sequoias. 
The  river,  to  which  the  name  of  Calaveras  was 
first  given,  rises  in  the  foothills  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada  and  flows  southwest,  emptying  into  the 
San  Joaquin  about  fifteen  miles  below  Stockton. 

The  river  received  its  rather  lugubrious  name 
at  the  hands  of  Captain  Moraga,  who  led  the 
first  expedition  up  the  Sacramento  and  San 
Joaquin  rivers.  In  his  diary,  Moraga  says  that 
the  river  tribes  fought  against  those  of  the  Sierra 
for  possession  of  the  salmon  in  the  stream,  and 
that  in  one  battle  as  many  as  three  thousand 
were  said  to  have  been  killed  and  left  on  the 
field.  A  great  number  of  skulls,  relics  of  this 
bloody  conflict,  were  found  by  Moraga  scattered 
along  the  creek  bed,  and  caused  him  to  give  it 
the  name  of  Las  Calaveras.  We  find  in  Fremont 
a  corroborating  reference  to  the  salmon  as  a 
cause  of  dissension  among  the  Indians  of  that 
region:  "This  fish  had  a  large  share  in  support- 
ing the  Indians,  who  raised  nothing,  but  lived 
on  what  nature  gave.  A  'salmon  water,'  as  they 
named  it,  was  a  valuable  possession  to  a  tribe  or 
village,  and  jealously  preserved  as  an  inherit- 
ance." 

Particular  interest  was  aroused  in  the  Indian 
314 


SHORE  OF  LAKE  TAHOE 
*  *  *  pearl  among  all  lakes." 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


relics  of  this  county  some  years  ago  by  the  find- 
ing of  the  celebrated  "Calaveras  skull,"  pur- 
porting to  have  been  taken  from  the  Tertiary 
deposit,  a  stratum  in  which  no  human  remains 
had  ever  before  been  discovered.  A  close  ex- 
amination into  the  circumstances,  however, 
caused  scientists  to  look  with  great  doubt  upon 
the  assertion  that  the  skull  had  been  taken  from 
the  Tertiary  deposit.  In  the  Handbook  of  Ameri- 
can Indians,  published  by  the  Smithsonian  In- 
stitute, the  following  reference  appears:  "Re- 
mains of  aborigines  are  plentiful  in  this  county, 
embedded  in  ancient  river  gravels,  from  which 
gold  was  washed.  By  some  scientists  these  re- 
mains were  thought  to  belong  to  the  Tertiary 
Age,  but  their  resemblance  to  the  modern  Indian 
makes  this  doubtful.  The  Calaveras  skull,  still 
preserved  in  the  Peabody  Museum  of  Archaeol- 
ogy and  Ethnology,  at  Cambridge,  Massachu- 
setts, was  said  to  have  come  from  the  gravels  of 
Bald  Mountain,  at  a  depth  of  130  feet,  but  there 
are  good  reasons  for  suspecting  that  it  was  de- 
rived from  one  of  the  limestone  caves  so  numer- 
ous in  that  region." 

TUOLUMNE 

Tuolumne  is  the  name  of  the  county  in  the 
317 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


Sierras  just  east  of  Calaveras,  and  of  the  river 
which  rises  at  the  base  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas, 
and  flows  into  the  San  Joaquin,  twenty-five 
miles  south  of  Stockton,  a  part  of  its  course  run- 
ning through  a  deep  canyon. 

Here  we  have  another  of  the  river  names 
ending  in  umne,  already  discussed  under  the 
heading  of  Cosumne.  As  stated  before,  umne 
probably  means  "people  of,"  and  it  is  held  by 
some  authorities  that  the  meaning  of  Tuolumne 
is  "people  of  the  stone  houses,  or  caves."  Ban- 
croft maintains  this  theory,  holding  that  the 
name  is  a  corruption  of  talmalamne,  "a  group 
of  stone  huts  or  caves,  or  collection  of  wig- 
wams." Objection  has  been  raised  to  this  theory 
on  the  ground  that  the  Indians  of  California  were 
not  cave-dwellers,  but  universally  lived  in  flimsy 
huts  made  of  sticks  and  grass.  This  objection  is 
cleared  away  in  some  measure  by  a  very  inter- 
esting paragraph  in  the  diary  of  Padre  Pedro 
Munoz,  who  accompanied  the  Gabriel  Moraga 
expedition  of  1806  into  that  region.  The  passage 
in  question  relates:  "On  the  morning  of  this 
day,  the  expedition  went  toward  the  east  along 
the  banks  of  the  river,  and  having  traveled 
about  six  leagues,  we  came  upon  a  village  called 
Tautamne.  This  village  is  situated  on  some 
steep  precipices,  inaccessible  on  account  of  their 

318 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


rough  rocks.  The  Indians  live  in  their  sotanos 
(cellars  or  caves) ;  they  go  up  and  come  down 
by  means  of  a  weak  stick,  held  up  by  one  of 
themselves  while  the  one  who  descends  slips 
down.  They  did  not  wish  to  come  down  from 
their  hiding-places,  and  for  me  the  ascent  was 
too  difficult.  This  village  probably  has  about 
two  hundred  souls,  judging  by  the  considerable 
mass  which  we  repeatedly  made  out  among  the 
rocks  and  corridors  [or  ledges]  in  the  manner 
of  balconies,  which  the  precipice  made."  This 
meeting  with  the  cave-dwellers  occurred  at  a 
spot  about  six  leagues  from  the  Guadalupe 
River,  after  the  expedition  had  left  the  Merced. 
It  is  not,  of  course,  to  be  inferred  from  this  cir- 
cumstance that  the  California  Indians  were  gen- 
uine "cliff  dwellers,"  but  rather  that,  at  least  in 
the  mountainous  parts  of  the  state,  they  may 
have  had  the  habit  of  taking  refuge  in  natural 
caves  from  inclement  weather  or  attacks  of 
enemies. 

As  to  the  pronunciation  of  the  word,  it  is  said 
that  the  Indians  called  it  Tu-ah-ldm-ne,  rather 
than  Tuolumne,  which  is  the  general  usage. 

MARIPOSA 

Mariposa  (butterfly)  is  famous  as  the  county 
319 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


that  holds  within  its  borders  two  of  the  wonders 
of  the  earth,  the  Yosemite  Valley  and  the  Giant 
Sequoias.  Some  of  these  trees  are  three  hundred 
feet  high,  thirty  feet  in  diameter,  and  2,400  years 
old,  having  unfolded  their  feathery  fronds  be- 
fore Christ  came  upon  the  earth.  According  to 
Professor  Jepsen,  "they  are  the  direct  descend- 
ants of  the  species  dominant  in  the  Tertiary 
Period,"  and  thus  are  a  living  reminder  of  the 
plant  life  of  that  dim  and  distant  past  of  which 
the  animal  life  is  pictured  for  us  in  the  fossil 
remains  of  the  mammoth  and  saber-tooth  tiger 
of  the  La  Brea  asphalt  beds. 

Nearly  every  writer  who  has  attempted  to 
account  for  the  name  Mariposa  has  fallen  into 
the  error  of  ascribing  it  to  the  charming  little 
flower  called  the  Mariposa  lily.  Fremont,  with 
his  intense  appreciation  of  the  beauty  of  the 
wild  flowers  covering  the  whole  country  with  a 
carpet  of  many  hues  at  the  time  of  his  passage 
over  the  Sierra,  says:  "On  some  of  the  higher 
ridges  were  fields  of  a  poppy  which,  fluttering 
and  tremulous  on  its  long  thin  stalk,  suggests  the 
idea  of  a  butterfly  settling  on  a  flower,  and  gives 
to  this  flower  its  name  of  Mariposa  (butterfly), 
and  the  flower  extends  its  name  to  the  stream." 
It  is  almost  a  pity  to  demolish  such  a  pretty 
story,  yet  it  is  unavoidable,  for  the  true  explana- 

320 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


tion  is  at  hand  in  the  diary  of  Padre  Munoz,  who 
accompanied  the  Gabriel  Moraga  expedition  of 
1806  into  the  Sierra.  He  says:  "This  spot  [not 
far  from  the  Merced  River]  was  called  Las  Mari- 
posas  (the  butterflies)  on  account  of  their  great 
multitude,  especially  at  night  and  in  the  morn- 
ing, so  much  so  that  they  became  excessively 
annoying,  carrying  their  desire  to  hide  from  the 
rays  of  the  sun  so  far  that  they  followed  us 
everywhere,  and  one  even  entered  into  the  ear 
of  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  expedition,  causing 
him  a  great  deal  of  annoyance,  and  not  a  little 
trouble  in  getting  it  out."  This  story  is  corrobor- 
ated by  the  fact  that  at  the  present  day  equally 
great  numbers  of  butterflies,  equally  annoying, 
swarm  through  the  mountain  forests  during  a 
certain  part  of  the  autumn. 


YOSEMITE 

Yosemite  (grizzly  bear,  not  large  grizzly  bear, 
according  to  the  scientists),  said  to  have  been 
called  Yohamite  by  the  natives,  is  one  of  the 
few  Indian  names  whose  meaning  has  been  as- 
certained with  a  reasonable  degree  of  certainty. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  Yosemite,  like  most 
Indian  words,  has  been  greatly  corrupted  from 

323 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


its  original  form,  which  was  u-zu-mai-ti,  o-so- 
mai-ti  or  uh-zu-mai-ti,  according  to  the  tribe 
using  it,  and  the  valley  was  never  known  by  this 
name  to  the  Indians,  but  always  as  A-wa-ni, 
from  the  name  of  their  principal  village.  Con- 
sidering the  great  alteration  of  the  name  from 
its  native  form,  it  does  not  seem  to  be  a  matter 
of  vital  importance  whether  it  shall  now  be  used 
as  one  word,  Yosemite,  or  in  two  words,  Yo 
Semite,  although  the  latter  form  was  at  one  time 
the  more  general  usage,  and  is  greatly  preferred 
by  some  persons.  The  valley  was  discovered  in 
1851  by  Major  James  D.  Savage  of  the  United 
States  army,  while  chasing  the  Indians,  who  had 
a  bad  habit  of  sallying  forth  from  their  hiding- 
place  in  the  valley  to  commit  depredations.  The 
name  was  chosen  by  Dr.  L.  H.  Bunnell,  surgeon 
of  the  expedition,  who  tells  the  story  in  his  Dis- 
covery of  the  Yosemite.  He  gave  it  the  name  of 
an  Indian  tribe  living  there  and  to  whom  this 
name  had  been  given  by  other  tribes,  they  call- 
ing themselves  Ah-wah-nee.  Their  chief,  Ten- 
ei-ya,  said  that  when  he  was  a  young  man  the 
name  Yosemite,  or  Yohamite,  had  been  chosen 
because  the  tribe  lived  in  the  mountains  and 
valleys  which  were  the  favorite  resorts  of  the 
bears,  and  because  his  people  were  expert  in 
killing  them.  He  also  said,  perhaps  in  a  spirit 

324 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


of  boasting,  that  the  name  was  bestowed  upon 
his  tribe  to  express  the  idea  that  they  were  held 
in  as  much  fear  as  the  bears.  This  band  of  In- 
dians was  said  to  have  been  originally  composed 
of  outlaws  or  refugees  from  other  tribes,  and 
may  have  well  deserved  their  evil  reputation. 

Indian  names,  few  of  which  can  be  scientific- 
ally defined,  have  been  given  to  many  peaks  and 
waterfalls  in  the  valley.  In  the  folder  printed 
by  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company  more 
or  less  fanciful  definitions  are  given  for  these 
names,  for  which  there  is  no  foundation  in  fact 
except  in  the  case  of  Yosemite  itself  and  Hunto, 
which  really  does  mean  "eye,"  though  not 
"watching  eye."  Tenaya  Peak  was  probably 
named  for  the  Yosemite  chief,  Ten-ei-ya.  The 
definition  of  Pi-wa-ack  as  "cataract  of  dia- 
monds" is  absurd  on  its  face,  for  a  moment's 
thought  will  remind  any  one  that  diamonds 
were  wholly  unknown  to  the  Indians  of  that 
time  and  place. 

"Ma-ta  (the  canyon),  a  generic  word,  in  ex- 
plaining which  the  Indians  held  up  both  hands 
to  denote  perpendicular  walls."  -  -  (Powers' 
Tribes  of  California.) 

"Tis-se-yak  is  the  name  of  an  Indian  woman 
who  figured  in  a  legend.  The  Indian  woman  cuts 
her  hair  straight  across  the  forehead  and  allows 

325 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


the  sides  to  drop  along  her  cheeks,  presenting  a 
square  face,  which  the  Indians  account  the  acme 
of  female  beauty,  and  they  think  they  discover 
this  square  face  in  the  vast  front  of  South 
Dome." — (Powers'  Tribes  of  California.) 

Cho-ko-nip-o-deh,  translated  as  "baby  basket" 
in  the  Southern  Pacific  folder,  means  literally 
"dog-place"  or  "dog-house." — (Powers'  Tribes  of 
California.) 

MONO 

Mono  is  the  name  of  a  county  on  the  eastern 
border  of  the  state,  and  of  the  lake  near  the 
eastern  base  of  the  Sierra  Nevada.  This  lake  is 
fourteen  miles  long  and  nine  miles  wide,  and  is 
peculiar  in  having  no  outlet,  its  waters  being 
strongly  saline  and  alkaline.  It  lies  6,730  feet 
above  sea  level  and  is  almost  completely  desti- 
tute of  animal  life. 

This  name,  corrupted  from  Monache,  the 
name  of  the  Indians  of  this  region,  through  its 
resemblance  to  the  Spanish  word  mono  (mon- 
key), has  been  the  cause  of  considerable  con- 
fusion, and  of  a  number  of  extravagant  theories, 
such  as  the  supposed  existence  of  monkeys  in 
that  country,  or  the  resemblance  of  the  natives 
to  those  animals,  but  the  similarity  between  the 

326 


VERNAL  FALLS  IN  THE  YOSEMITE  VALLEY 
"The  valley  was  called  by  the  Indians  'Awani,'  from  the  name 
of  their  principal  village." 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


two  words  is  regarded  by  ethnologists  as  purely 
accidental.  The  meaning  is  obscure,  but  it  is 
said  that  the  name  was  applied  to  some  Sho- 
shonean  tribes  of  southeastern  California  by 
their  neighbors  on  the  west. 


INYO 

Inyo,  a  word  of  unknown  meaning,  was  the 
name  of  a  tribe  of  Indians  in  the  Sierra.  Inyo 
County  is  on  the  eastern  border  of  the  state, 
adjacent  to  Nevada.  Its  largest  stream  is  the 
Owens  River,  which  flows  into  Owens  Lake,  an- 
other body  of  saline  water  having  no  outlet. 
This  county  has  the  unenviable  distinction  of 
containing  within  its  borders  the  terrible  "Death 
Valley,"  where  the  bones  of  so  many  unfortu- 
nates have  been  left  to  whiten  under  the  desert 
sun,  and  which  still  claims  a  victim  now  and 
then.  This  desolate  valley  is  forty  miles  long, 
lying  far  below  the  level  of  the  sea,  is  destitute 
of  all  vegetation,  totally  without  water,  subject 
to  terrific  heat,  and  in  all  respects  well  deserves 
its  funereal  name.  Inyo  is  unique  in  containing 
the  highest  and  lowest  points  in  the  United 
States,  Mount  Whitney  and  Death  Valley,  within 
sight  of  each  other.  In  other  parts  of  the  county 

329 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


the  mountain  scenery  is  of  remarkable  grandeur* 
and  the  gold  mines  in  which  it  is  unusually  rich 
are  still  worked  with  profit. 

AMARGOSA  RIVER 

Amargosa  (bitter)  is  the  very  appropriate 
name  of  a  river  of  Nevada  and  southeastern 
California  which  flows  into  Death  Valley,  some- 
times known  also  as  the  Amargosa  Desert.  The 
mountains  lying  northeast  of  the  river's  upper 
course  are  sometimes  called  the  Amargosa 
Mountains.  Fremont  gives  a  characteristic  pic- 
ture of  this  dreary  country  in  the  following 
paragraph:  "We  traveled  through  a  barren 
district,  where  a  heavy  gale  was  blowing  about 
the  loose  sand,  and,  after  a  ride  of  eight  miles, 
reached  a  large  creek  of  salt  and  bitter  water, 
running  in  a  westerly  direction,  to  meet  the 
stream  bed  we  had  left.  It  is  called  by  the 
Spaniards  Amargosa,  the  bitter  water  of  the 
desert." 


SUPPLEMENTARY  LIST 

Alta  (high)  is  a  village  in  Placer  County,  sixty- 
eight  miles  northeast  of  Sacramento,  two  miles 

330 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


from  the  great  American  Canyon.  The  altitude 
of  this  place  is  3,607  feet  above  sea  level.  The 
name  is  modern  and  was  only  given  to  the  place 
after  the  building  of  the  Central  Pacific  Rail- 
road. 

Cerro  Gordo  (large,  thick  hill)  is  the  name  of 
a  famous  mining  camp  in  Inyo  County. 

Cisco  is  a  town  in  Placer  County,  situated  at 
an  altitude  of  5,934  feet  above  sea  level.  Cisco 
is  a  word  of  disputed  origin.  It  has  been  said  to 
be  derived  from  the  Algonquin  word  cisco, 
meaning  a  fish,  a  sort  of  oily  herring  found  in 
the  Great  Lakes,  but  it  seems  unlikely  that  such 
a  name  should  be  transported  all  the  way  from 
the  Great  Lakes  to  the  Sierras,  especially  as  no 
fish  of  that  kind  is  to  be  found  there.  Other 
persons  believe  the  word  to  be  derived  from  the 
Spanish  cisco  (broken  pieces  of  coal),  but  for 
this  there  appears  to  be  no  legitimate  reason. 
In  the  History  of  Placer  County  the  statement 
is  made  that  the  town  was  named  for  John  J. 
Cisco,  at  one  time  connected  with  the  United 
States  Government,  an  explanation  which  is 
probably  the  true  one. 

Esmeralda  (emerald),  a  village  in  Calaveras 
County. 

Hetch  Hetchy  is  the  Indian  name  of  a  deep 
valley  in  the  Sierra,  lying  north  of  the  Yosemite, 

331 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


which  will  some  day  cease  to  be  a  valley  and 
become  a  lake,  as  the  people  of  San  Francisco 
have  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  permission  of 
the  United  States  Government  to  turn  it  into  a 
reservoir  for  the  city's  water  supply.  An  ex- 
planation of  the  meaning  of  the  word  Hetch 
Hetchy  has  been  obtained  through  the  kindness 
of  John  Muir,  who  says :  "I  have  been  informed 
by  mountaineers  who  know  something  of  the 
Indian  language  that  Hetch  Hetchy  is  the  name 
of  a  species  of  grass  that  the  Tuolumne  Indians 
used  for  food,  and  which  grows  on  the  meadow 
at  the  lower  end  of  the  valley.  The  grain,  when 
ripe,  was  gathered  and  beaten  out  and  pounded 
into  meal  in  mortars."  The  word  was  originally 
spelled  Hatchatchie. 

Lancha  Plana  (flat-boat)  is  in  Amador  County, 
and  its  story  is  thus  told  by  Mr.  Junius  Farns- 
worth,  an  old  resident  of  Stockton :  "This  town 
is  located  across  the  Mokelumne  River  from 
Poverty  Bar,  a  name  given  to  a  gravel  bar  in 
the  river  which  was  exceedingly  rich  in  placer 
gold,  and  to  which  thousands  of  early  day 
miners  were  attracted.  Those  who  came  from 
the  north  side  of  the  Mokelumne  centered  in 
Lancha  Plana  and  reached  Poverty  Bar  by 
means  of  a  flat-boat,  or  flat  ferry.  The  Spanish 
soon  designated  the  settlement  on  the  north 

332 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


bank  of  the  river  as  Lancha  Plana,  as  it  was  the 
point  at  which  the  flat-boat  tied  up." 

Moquelumne  is  the  name  of  a  river  which 
rises  in  the  high  Sierra  in  Alpine  County,  flows 
southwesterly  and  empties  into  the  San  Joaquin. 
The  word  is  a  corruption  of  the  Miwok  Waka- 
lumitoh,  the  Indian  name  of  the  river.  The 
Moquelumne  family  was  made  up  of  an  aggre- 
gation of  tribes  which  occupied  three  sections, 
one  lying  between  the  Cosumnes  and  Fresno 
rivers,  another  in  Marin,  Sonoma,  and  Napa 
counties,  and  a  third  occupying  a  small  area  in 
the  south  end  of  Lake  County. —  (A.  L.  Kroeber, 
in  American  Anthrop.  VIII,  No.  4,  1906.)  The 
Miwoks  constituted  the  great  body  of  this  fam- 
ily, the  different  branches  of  which  were  con- 
nected by  a  similarity  of  languages.  The  Miwoks 
are  described  as  being  quite  low  in  the  scale  of 
civilization,  and  "it  has  been  asserted  that  this 
tribe  of  Indians  ate  every  variety  of  living 
creature  indigenous  to  their  territory  except  the 
skunk.  The  skins  of  jack-rabbits  were  rudely 
woven  into  robes,  and  they  bought  bows  and 
arrows  from  the  mountain  Indians  for  shell 
money.  Cremation  of  the  dead  was  usual,  and 
all  possessions  of  the  departed  were  burned 
with  them.  Their  names  were  never  afterward 
mentioned  and  those  who  bore  the  same  names 

333 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


changed  them  for  others.  Widows  covered  their 
faces  with  pitch,  and  the  younger  women  singed 
their  hair  short  as  a  sign  of  widowhood."- 
(Handbook  of  American  Indians.)  Muk-kel  was 
the  name  of  the  principal  village  of  this  tribe, 
and  if  umne  does  in  fact  mean  "people  of," 
Moquelumne  may  be  "people  of  the  village  of 
Muk-kel." 

Panamint  Range  of  mountains  was  named  for 
the  Panamint  tribe,  who  belonged  to  the  Sho- 
shonean  family,  and  lived  around  the  Panamint 
Valley,  in  Inyo  County,  southeastern  California. 
Many  unfortunate  seekers  after  gold  have  lost 
their  lives  in  this  desolate  mountain  range. 

Pinto  Range  (painted  or  spotted  range),  so 
called  because  of  the  variegated  colors  of  the 
rocks.  This  range  is  in  Inyo  County. 

San  Andreas  (St.  Andrew)  is  the  county-seat 
of  Calaveras  County,  and  is  situated  near  the 
Calaveras  River,  fifty-six  miles  southeast  of  Sac- 
ramento. Placer  gold  mining  was  at  one  time 
extensively  carried  on  here.  St.  Andrew,  the 
patron  saint  of  this  place,  was  the  brother  of 
Simon  Peter,  and  was  the  first  called  to  be  an 
apostle.  He  suffered  martyrdom  by  being  cruci- 
fied, supposedly  on  a  cross  shaped  like  the  one 
that  bears  his  name.  He  is  the  patron  of  the 
Order  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  and  of  the  great 

334 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


Order  of  the  Cross  of  St.  Andrew. — (Stories  of 
the  Saints.)  San  Andreas  is  anomalous  in  being 
almost  the  only  Spanish  name  in  the  mining 
district.  The  circumstances  of  its  naming  have 
not  been  ascertained. 

Sonora,  named  for  the  province  of  Sonora  in 
Mexico,  is  the  capital  of  Tuolumne  County,  and 
is  situated  ninety  miles  southeast  of  Sacra- 
mento. It  received  its  name  from  the  large  num- 
ber of  Sonorans  from  the  Mexican  province  who 
mined  there  in  the  very  early  days.  This  is  a 
mining  period  name  and  has  no  real  connection 
with  Spanish  names. 

Tenaya  Peak  in  Yosemite  Valley  is  named  for 
Ten-ei-ya,  chief  of  the  Yosemite  Indians. 

Vallecito  (little  valley)  is  in  Calaveras  County, 
fifty-five  miles  northeast  of  Stockton. 

Wawona,  in  Mariposa  County,  is  said  by  some 
authorities  to  be  a  Moquelumnan  word  meaning 
"big  tree,"  but  this  definition  is  regarded  by 
ethnologists  with  doubt. 


335 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


CAMINO  REAL 

Camino  Real  (royal  road,  or  the  King's  high- 
way). The  Camino  Real  was  the  road  connect- 
ing the  missions,  and  was  the  chief  means  of 
intercourse  between  the  different  settlements 
during  the  early  years  of  the  state's  history. 
After  American  occupation  the  road  fell  into 
disuse,  but  at  present  is  being  reconstructed 
along  the  old  route,  with  many  extensions  and 
branches,  and  will,  when  finished,  be  one  of  the 
finest  in  the  United  States. 


336 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


PRONUNCIATION  OF  SPANISH  NAMES 

While  it  scarcely  falls  within  the  province  of  this 
book  to  enter  into  an  elaborate  discussion  of  the  matter 
of  pronunciation  of  Spanish  names,  it  is  thought  de- 
sirable to  present  a  few  of  the  simplest  rules,  with 
some  examples,  so  that  persons  unacquainted  with  the 
language  may  avoid  at  least  the  worst  of  those  pit-falls 
set  for  their  inexperienced  feet  by  our  nomenclature. 
It  should  be  mentioned  that  in  California  the  Spanish- 
American  usage,  rather  than  the  Castilian,  is  followed 
in  the  pronunciation  of  the  c  and  z.  The  rules  of  pro- 
nunciation quoted  here  are  those  given  in  Ramsey's 
text  books,  generally  regarded  as  excellent  authority. 

VOWELS 

A  sounds  like  a  in  ah,  midway  between  the  English 
a  in  father  and  that  in  fat.  Example,  Pa/a,  pronounced 
Pah'lah. 

E  sounds  like  a  in  hay,  its  sound  being  slightly  var- 
ied according  to  situation.  Example,  Rode'o,  pro- 
nounced Ro-day'o. 

I  sounds  like  ee  in  bee.  Example,  Vista,  pronounced 
Vees'tah. 

O  sounds  like  o  in  hope.  Example,  Contra  Costa, 
pronounced  Cone'trah  Coast'ah.  This  name  is  fre- 
quently mispronounced  by  using  the  short  sound  of  o, 
as  in  not. 

U  sounds  like  u  in  rule.  Example,  La  Pnnta,  pro- 
nounced La  Poon'tah. 

337 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Y,  when  a  vowel,  is  equivalent  to  i.  Y  is  considered 
a  vowel  only  when  standing  alone,  as  in  y  (the  con- 
junction and),  or  at  the  end  of  a  word,  as  in  ley  (law), 
but  is  sometimes  used  interchangeably  with  /  at  the  be- 
ginning of  a  word,  as  in  San  Ysidro,  pronounced  San 
Ee-see'dro,  and  sometimes  spelled  Isidro.  In  other 
cases  it  is  a  consonant  and  is  pronounced  like  the  y 
in  the  English  yard. 


CONSONANTS 

Only  those  consonant  sounds  differing  from  English 
usage  need  be  mentioned  here. 

C  has  two  sounds.  Before  e  and  i  it  is  pronounced 
like  s  in  seat,  that  is,  in  Spanish-American  usage;  ex- 
amples, Cerro,  pronounced  Ser'ro,  and  Cima,  pro- 
nounced See'mah.  In  all  other  cases  c  has  the  sound 
of  k;  examples,  Carlos,  pronounced  Kar'loce,  Colorado, 
pronounced  Ko-lo-rah'do  (each  o  long,  as  in  hope), 
Cuesta,  pronounced  Kwes'tah,  and  Cruz,  pronounced 
Kroos. 

Ch  has  the  sound  of  ch  in  church.  Example,  Chico, 
pronounced  Chee'ko. 

D  is  slightly  softened,  and  when  occurring  between 
vowels  and  at  the  end  of  words  it  is  almost  like  th  in 
then.  Examples,  Andrade,  pronounced  Ahn-drah'-dthay, 
and  Soledad,  pronounced  Sole-ay-dadth. 

G  has  two  sounds.  Before  e  and  i  it  has  the  sound  of 
strongly  aspirated  h.  Examples,  German',  pronounced 
Hare-mahn',  and  giro,  pronounced  hee'ro.  In  all  other 
cases  it  sounds  like  g  in  go.  Examples,  Gaviota,  Goleta, 
Guadalupe,  Granada.  In  gue  and  gui  the  u  is  regularly 

338 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


silent;  exceptions  to  this  rule  are  marked  by  the  diaere- 
sis, as  in  Argiiello,  pronounced  Ar-givayl'yo,  or  in  Span- 
ish-American, Ar-givay'yo. 

H  is  silent  except  in  the  combined  character  ch.  Ex- 
ample, La  Honda,  pronounced  La  On'dah,  with  long  o, 
as  in  hope. 

J  has  the  sound  of  strongly  aspirated  h.  Examples, 
Pdjaro,  pronounced  Pah'hah-ro,  and  San  Jose,  pro- 
nounced San  Ho-say'.  This  letter  is  one  of  the  worst 
stumbling  blocks  in  the  pronunciation  of  Spanish 
names. 

LI  has  the  sound  of  the  letters  ///  in  the  English 
million,  but  in  many  parts  of  Spanish-America  it  is 
pronounced  like  y  in  beyond.  The  latter  is  not  con- 
sidered an  elegant  pronunciation.  Example,  Vallejo, 
properly  pronounced  Val-yah'ho,  but  in  Spanish- 
American,  Va-yay'ho. 

N  with  the  tilde,  n,  has  the  sound  of  the  letters  ni  in 
the  English  pinion.  Example,  Canada,  pronounced  Cahn- 
yah'dthah. 

Q  only  occurs  before  ue  and  HI,  and  sounds  like  k, 
the  following  u  being  always  silent.  Example,  San 
Quintin,  pronounced  San  Keen-teen'. 

S  has  the  hissing  sound  of  s  in  say,  base,  and  is  never 
pronounced  like  sh  as  in  mansion,  or  z  as  in  rose. 
Thus  in  Santa  Posa  the  s  is  sharply  hissed  and  is  not 
pronounced  as  Santa  Roza. 

Z  is  sounded  in  Spanish-America  like  sharply  hissed 
*,  as  in  say  or  base.  Example,  Zamora,  pronounced 
Sah-mo'rah. 

A  peculiarity  of  pronunciation  common  to  almost  all 
Spaniards  is  the  confusion  of  the  b  and  the  v  so  that 
one  can  hardly  be  distinguished  from  the  other.  Vowel 

339 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


sounds  are  pronounced  shortly  and  crisply,  never  with 
the  drawling  circumflex  sound  sometimes  heard  in 
English.  Without  going  into  the  complications  of  the 
divisions  of  syllables,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  funda- 
mental principle  is  to  make  syllables  end  in  a  vowel  as 
far  as  possible;  examples,  Do-lo-res  (not  Do-lor-es), 
Sa-li-nas  (not  Sal-in-as). 


ACCENT 

All  words  ending  in  n  or  s  or  a  vowel  are  regularly 
accented  on  the  next  to  the  last  syllable;  examples, 
Sausalito,  Alturas,  comen.  All  others  are  accepted  on 
the  last  syllable;  examples,  San  Rafael',  Auenal'.  In 
words  following  the  above  rules  no  mark  is  used,  but 
in  the  exceptions,  which  are  many,  the  stress  must  be 
indicated  by  the  written  accent.  Examples,  Portold, 
Jolon,  alamo,  Angeles. 


ARTICLES 

In  the  Spanish  language  articles  agree  with  their 
nouns  in  gender  and  number.  The  forms  of  the  defin- 
ite article  are  el  (singular)  and  los  (plural)  for  the 
masculine,  la  (singular)  and  las  (plural)  for  the  fem- 
inine. Examples,  El  Portal  (the  portal,  or  gate),  Los 
Gatos  (the  cats),  La  Paz  (the  peace),  Las  Virgenes  (the 
virgins). 

340 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


LIST  OF  NAMES  MOST  LIKELY  TO  BE  MISPRO- 
NOUNCED, WITH  THEIR  PHONETIC 
PRONUNCIATION 


Agua    pronounced 


Aguajito  . . . 
Alameda  . . . 
Los  Angeles 
Asuncion  . 


El  Cajon' 


Camino  Real 
Canada 


Carpinteria 
Carquinez  . 
Conejo  .... 
Corral  .... 
Dolores  . . . 
Farallones 


Los  Gatos 
Guadalupe 


Ah'gwah.  Spanish  Ameri- 
cans often  mispronounce 
this  word  by  leaving  out 
the  g,  calling  it  ah'wa. 

Ah-gwah-hee'to. 

Ah-lah-may'dthah. 

Loce  Ahng'hell-ess. 

Ah-soon-see-on' ,  with  the 
o  long,  as  in  hope. 

El  Kah-hon',  with  the  o 
long,  as  in  hope. 

Kah-mee'no  Ray-ahl' . 

Kahn-yah'dtha,  with  the 
d  slightly  softened  like 
th  in  then. 

Kar-peen-tay-ree'ah. 

Kar-kee'ness. 

Ko-nay'ho. 

Kofe-rahl'. 

Do-lo'ress. 

Fah-rahl-yo'ness,  in 
Spanish-American,  Fa- 
rah-yo'ness. 

Loce  Gah'tos,  the  o  long, 
as  in  hope. 

Giva-dah-loo'pay. 


341 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


La  Jolla 


La  Joya  .... 
La  Junta  . . . 
Laguna  Seca 
Lagunitas  . . 
Matilija  .... 
Merced  . 


Mesa 
Ojo    . 


Pdjaro   

Paso  Pobles  .... 

Portold    

Punta  Arenas  . . . 

Rodeo    

Salinas  

San  Geronimo  . . 
SanJacinto  ..... 
San  Joaquin  .... 

San  Jose    

San  Juan  Bautista 

San  Julian   

San  Luis  Obispo  . 

San  Martin    

San  Quintin    .... 


Santa  Fe  . 
Santa  Inez 
San  Ysidro 


Sunol 


La  Hole'yah,  or  in  Span- 
ish-American, Ho'yah. 

La  Ho'yah. 

La  Hoon'tah. 

Lah-goo'nah  Say'cah. 

Lah-goo-nee'tas. 

Mah-tee-lee'hah. 

Mare-sedth',  with  the  d 
slightly  softened  like  th 
in  then. 

May's  ah. 

O'ho,  with  the  ;'  strongly 
aspirated. 

Pah'hah-ro. 

Pah'so  Ro'blace. 

Por-to-lah'. 

Poon  tah  Ah-ray'nas. 

Ro-day'o,  not  ro-dee-o. 

Sah-lee'nas. 

Sahn  Hay-ro-nee-mo. 

Sahn  Hah-seen'to. 

Sahn  Wha-keen'. 

Sahn  Ho-say'. 

Sahn  Whan  Bau-tees'ta. 

Sahn  Hoo-lee-ahn'. 

Sahn  Loo-ees'  O-bees'po. 

Sahn  Mar-teen'. 

Sahn  Keen  -  teen',  collo- 
quially spelled  Quentin. 

Sahnta  Fay'. 

Sahnta  Ee-ness'. 

Sahn  Ee-see'dro,  also 
spelled  Isidro. 

Soon-yole'. 


342 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


Vallejo   

Las  Virgenes  , . . 


Val-yay'ho.    in    Spanish- 
American  Vah-yay'ho. 
Las  Veer'hen-ess. 


343 


MAP  OF  THE  MISSIONS 
Used  by  the  courtesy  of  Father  Engelhardt. 


FINAL  LIST  AND 
INDEX 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


FINAL  LIST  AND  INDEX 

Abalone  (the  great  sea-snail  of  the  Pacific 
Coast).  See  page  76. 

Acampo  (common  pasture).  See  page  290. 
This  name  is  used  here  in  the  sense  of  "camp,*' 
and  was  given  by  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad 
years  ago,  in  reference  to  a  camp  of  wood  chop- 
pers and  Chinese  which  was  located  there. 

Acolito  (acolyte)  is  in  Imperial  County. 

Adelaida  (a  feminine  Christian  name),  a  vil- 
lage in  San  Luis  Obispo  County. 

Adelante  (onward,  forward),  now  changed  to 
Napa  Junction,  is  in  Napa  County.  This  place 
was  called  Adelante  in  the  hope  that  its  location 
on  Napa  River  would  cause  it  to  become  the 
principal  city  of  the  valley. 

Adobe  (sun-dried  brick) . 

Agua  (water)  is  in  very  common  use  in  refer- 
ring to  springs,  usually  accompanied  by  a  qual- 
ifying adjective.  See  page  341.  This  word  is 
usually  mispronounced  by  Spanish  Americans. 

Agua  Amargosa  (bitter  water).    See  page  154. 

Agua  Caliente  (hot  water,  hot  spring).  See 
pages  77  and  263. 

Agua  Cayendo  (falling  water). 

Agua  Dulce  (sweet  water,  fresh  water). 
349 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Agua  Fria  (cold  water,  cold  spring). 

Agua  Hedionda  (stinking  water,  sulphur 
spring) . 

Aguaje  del  Centinela  (water  hole,  or  watering 
place  of  the  sentinel),  the  title  of  a  land  grant. 

Agua  del  Medio  (middle  spring) . 

Aguajilo  (little  water  hole).  Near  Monterey, 
in  a  delightful  little  glen,  there  were  a  number 
of  these  springs,  or  water  holes,  where  the 
women  were  in  the  habit  of  doing  the  town 
washing,  kneeling  upon  the  ground  and  wash- 
ing the  clothing  directly  in  the  springs.  This 
place  was  called  Los  Aguajitos  (the  water 
holes),  by  the  Spanish  residents,  and  "washer- 
woman's canyon"  by  the  Americans.  In  the  pas- 
toral days  of  California,  entire  families  climbed 
into  their  ox-carts,  made  with  solid  wooden 
wheels,  and,  provided  with  a  liberal  lunch  bas- 
ket, made  a  picnic  of  "blue  Monday"  under  the 
green  trees  of  Los  Aguajitos  canyon.  See  page 
341. 

Agua  Mala  (bad  water)  Creek.  In  Monterey 
County. 

Agua  Mansa  (still  water,  smooth-running  cur- 
rent). One  writer,  for  what  reason  does  not 
appear,  defines  this  as  "house  water."  This 
place  is  in  Southern  California,  near  Colton. 
The  term  was  applied  to  the  Santa  Ana  River, 
on  account  of  its  silently  flowing  current. 

350 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


Aguanga,  in  Riverside  County,  has  no  connec- 
tion with  the  Spanish  agua,  water,  but  is  a  place 
or  village  name  of  the  Shoshonean  Luiserio  In- 
dians. The  meaning  is  not  known.  (Kroeber, 
California  Place  Names  of  Indian  Origin,  page 
33.) 

Agua  Puerca  (dirty  or  muddy  water). 

Agua  Puerca  y  las  Trancas  (muddy  water  and 
the  bars,  or  stiles).  This  was  the  peculiar  title 
of  a  land  grant,  based,  no  doubt,  upon  some 
trivial  circumstance  now  forgotten.  One  writer 
has  translated  it  as  "water  fit  for1  pigs  and 
Frenchmen,"  a  gratuitous  insult  to  the  French 
people  of  which  the  Spaniards  were  not  guilty. 
This  writer  evidently  mistook  the  word  puerca 
(muddy  or  dirty)  for  puerca  (sow),  and  by  some 
strange  twist  of  the  imagination,  seems  to  have 
taken  francos  to  mean  Frenchmen! 

Aguas  Frias  (cold  waters)  is  in  Butte  County. 

Agua  Tibia  (tepid  or  warm  water,  warm 
spring).  See  page  38. 

Agua  de  Vida  (water  of  life). 

Aguilar  (the  place  of  eagles). 

Las  Aguilas  (the  eagles).  Real  de  las  Aguilas 
means  the  "camp  of  the  eagles." 

Ahwanee  (an  Indian  place  name),  popularly 
but  not  authentically  translated  as  "a  deep  or 
grassy  valley,"  is  the  name  of  a  place  in  Madera 
County.  It  was  the  name  by  which  Yosemite 

351 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


Valley  was  known  to  the  Indians,  from  the  name 
of  this  principal  village,  A-wa-ni,  which  stood 
directly  at  the  foot  of  Yosemite  Fall. 

Alameda  (an  avenue  shaded  by  trees,  or  a 
cottonwood  grove).  This  word  is  derived  from 
alamo,  a  poplar  tree  known  in  the  West  as  cot- 
tonwood. See  pages  210  and  341. 

Los  Alamitos  (the  little  cottonwoods).  See 
page  77. 

Alamo  (cottonwood).    See  page  230. 

Los  Alamos  y  Agua  Caliente  (the  cottonwoods 
and  hot  spring),  the  title  of  a  land  grant. 

Alcalde  (mayor,  justice  of  the  peace).  This 
place  is  in  the  southern  part  of  Fresno  County. 

Alcatraz  (pelican),  see  page  205. 

Alessandro  (Alexander).  This  place  is  in  Riv- 
erside County. 

Alhambra,  near  Los  Angeles,  is  said  to  have 
been  named  for  the  famous  Alhambra  of  Spain. 
The  Alhambra  was  an  ancient  palace  and  fort- 
ress of  the  Moorish  monarchs  of  Granada  in 
Southern  Spain,  probably  built  between  1248  and 
1354.  The  word  signifies  in  Arabic  "the  red,"  and 
was  perhaps  given  to  this  building  in  allusion  to 
the  color  of  the  bricks  of  which  the  outer  walls 
are  constructed.  "The  marvelous  beauty  of  the 
architecture  of  this  structure  has  been  greatly  in- 
jured by  alterations,  earthquakes,  etc.,  yet  it  still 
remains  the  most  perfect  example  of  Moorish  art 

352 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


in  its  final  European  development."  A  curious 
example  of  corruption  is  found  in  the  name  of 
Alhambra  Creek,  situated  near  the  town  of 
Martinez,  Contra  Costa  County.  The  question 
naturally  arises  as  to  what  possible  connection 
there  could  be  between  an  obscure  little  stream 
in  California  and  the  famous  old  Moorish  palace 
of  the  Alhambra  in  Spain.  Investigation  shows 
that  there  is,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  no  connection 
at  all,  and  that  the  true  story  of  the  name  runs 
as  follows:  In  1772  Captain  Pages  passed  that 
way  at  the  head  of  an  exploring  party  and 
named  this  stream  Arroyo  del  Hambre  (hunger 
creek),  in  reference  to  the  destitution  observed 
among  the  Indians  in  the  neighborhood.  From 
del  hambre  to  al  hambre,  then  to  Alhambra  is 
not  a  very  long  or  difficult  road  for  careless 
people  to  travel.  Unless  the  name  of  the  place 
in  Los  Angeles  County  is  modern  the  same  cor- 
ruption may  have  occurred  in  its  name,  and  its 
origin  may  have  no  connection  with  the  famous 
Moorish  palace  in  Spain. 

El  Alisal  (alder  grove). 

A liso  (alder),  see  page  77. 

Los  Alisos  (the  alders). 

Almaden  (mine,  mineral).    See  page  178. 

Alta  (high).    See  page  330. 

Alta  Loma  (high  hill),  in  San  Bernardino 
County,  is  an  example  of  improper  arrangement 

353 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


of  Spanish  words.  It  should  be  Loma  Alta,  in 
accordance  with  the  usage  of  the  Spanish  lan- 
guage in  placing  the  adjective  after  the  noun. 

Altaville  (high  town),  in  Calaveras,  is  one 
more  of  the  unfortunate  examples  of  combining 
the  two  languages — the  Spanish  alta  and  the 
French  ville. 

Alto  (high)  is  near  San  Francisco. 

Los  Altos  (the  heights)  is  about  fifteen  miles 
from  Los  Gatos. 

Alturas  (heights).    See  page  263. 

Alvarado  (a  surname).    See  page  231. 

Alviso  (a  surname) .    See  page  178. 

Amador  (a  surname) .    See  page  313. 

Amargosa  (bitter).    See  page  330. 

American  River.    See  page  304. 

Anacapa  Island.  This  name  is  Indian,  but  the 
popular  story  that  it  means  "vanishing  island, 
disappearing  island,"  is  probably  not  authentic. 
"Anacapa  is  a  corruption  of  Vancouver's  Indian 
name  of  the  island,  Enneeapah;  the  engraver 
spelled  it  Enecapah  on  the  chart,  and  subsequent 
compilers  have  endeavored  to  give  it  a  Spanish 
form." — (Geo.  Davidson  in  United  States  Coast 
and  Geodetic  Survey.) 

Anahuac  was  the  name  of  an  Indian  village 
in  San  Diego  County. 

Andrade  (a  surname).  This  place  is  near 
Calexico. 

354 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


Los  Angeles  (the  angels).  See  pages  53  and 
341. 

Angel  Island.    See  page  205. 

Las  Animas  (the  souls).    See  page  66. 

Ano  Nuevo  (new  year).    See  page  154. 

Aptos  is  said  to  be  an  Indian  name,  meaning 
"the  meeting  of  two  streams,"  in  reference  to 
Valencia  and  Aptos  Creeks.  As  this  was  a 
method  of  naming  very  much  in  vogue  among 
the  Indians,  it  is  likely  that  this  is  the  true  ex- 
planation of  Aptos. 

Arena  (sand).    See  page  263. 

Las  Arenas  (the  sands). 

Punta  de  Arenas  (sandy  point),  a  cape  on  the 
coast  of  Mendocino  County. 

Arguello  (a  surname).    See  page  104. 

Armada  (fleet,  squadron).  The  Armada  was 
the  name  of  the  great  fleet  sent  against  England 
by  Philip  II  in  1588.  Whether  the  name  of  this 
town,  situated  in  Riverside  County,  has  this 
origin  has  not  been  ascertained. 

Las  Aromitas  y  Agua  Caliente  (the  little  per- 
fumes and  hot  spring),  title  of  a  land  grant. 

Aromas  (the  odors,  perfumes)  is  in  San  Benito 
County. 

Arroyo  (a  creek  or  small  stream).  The  des- 
ignation arroyo  is  sometimes  applied  to  the  dry 
bed  of  a  former  stream.  It  does  not,  as  is  some- 
times thought,  refer  only  to  a  bed  with  steep 

355 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


sides,  but  is  applied  as  well  to  shallow  streams 
flowing  through  level  country. 

Arroyo  de  la  Alameda  (creek  of  the  cotton- 
wood  grove). 

Arroyo  Buenos  Aires  (creek  of  the  good  airs). 
See  page  290. 

Arroyo  del  Burro  (jackass  creek) . 

Arroyo  Chico  (little  creek).     See  page  290. 

Arroyo  de  los  Dolores  (creek  of  the  sorrows) . 
Dolores  Creek  in  San  Francisco  was  so  named 
"because  this  was  the  Friday  of  Sorrows." 

Arroyo  de  los  Gatos  (creek  of  the  cats — wild- 
cats) . 

Arroyo  Grande  (big  creek) .    See  page  127. 

Arroyo  Hondo  (deep  creek).    See  page  178. 

Arroyo  de  la  Laguna  (creek  of  the  lagoon). 

Arroyo  Medio  (middle  creek) . 

Arroyo  de  las  Nueces  y  Bolbones  (creek  of  the 
walnuts  and  Bolbones).  This  name,  which  has 
been  retained  up  to  the  present  time  in  the 
English  guise  of  Walnut  Creek,  was  bestowed  by 
Sergeant  Gabriel  Moraga,  who  led  a  party  on 
an  exploring  expedition  into  the  interior  in 
August,  1810.  Bolbones,  or  Bolgones,  was  the 
name  of  a  tribe  of  Indians  living  in  that  vicinity. 

Arroyo  del  Norte  (creek  of  the  north). 

Arroyo  Pasajero  (creek  roadway  or  passage) . 
It  is  in  Fresno. 

356 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


Arroyo  Pinoso  (piny  creek).  It  is  in  Fresno 
County. 

Arroyo  Real  de  las  Aguilas  (creek  of  the  camp 
of  the  eagles). 

Arroyo  del  Rodeo  (creek  of  the  cattle  round- 
up). 

Arroyo  Seco  (dry  creek).  See  page  157. 

Arroyo  del  Toro  (creek  of  the  bull)  is  in  Riv- 
erside County. 

Asfalto  (asphalt),  incorrectly  spelled  asphallo, 
is  in  southwestern  Kern  County. 

Asuncion  (ascension).    See  pages  96  and  341. 

Atascadero  (bog-mire).  See  page  127.  The 
Atascadero  is  one  of  the  largest  ranches  in  the 
state,  comprising  22,000  acres. 

Avena  (oats)  is  in  Inyo  County. 

Avenal  (a  field  sown  with  oats).  See  page  127. 

Avenales  (fields  of  oats). 

A vila  (a  surname),  eight  miles  from  San  Luis 
Obispo,  was  probably  named  for  a  pioneer  fam- 
ily of  Los  Angeles.  There  is  a  city  of  the  same 
name  in  Spain,  a  place  noted  for  its  romantic 
history  and  its  ancient  fortifications,  which  still 
remain  one  of  the  mural  wonders  of  the  world. 

Azul  (blue).  In  the  foothills  of  the  Santa 
Cruz  Mountains  in  Santa  Clara  County  there  are 
some  springs  of  water  bearing  the  name  of  Azul, 
and  the  blueness  of  the  water,  rivaling  the  sky 
as  it  runs  away  from  the  springs,  makes  the 

357 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


name  seem  appropriate.  On  some  old  maps  the 
Santa  Cruz  Mountains  are  marked  as  Aztil 
(blue)  Mountains. 

Azusa.  See  page  77.  This  is  the  name  of  a 
place  in  Los  Angeles  County.  According  to  a 
correspondent,  Azusa  is  said  to  mean  "Skunk 
Hill."— (Kroeber,  p.  33.) 

El  Bailarm  (the  dancer) .    See  page  98. 

Balboa,  in  Orange  County,  is  presumably 
named  in  honor  of  the  famous  discoverer  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  who 
first  set  eyes  on  the  glorious  expanse  of  waters 
to  the  west  of  the  great  American  continents  on 
September  26,  1513.  When  he  descended  the 
mountains  and  finally  stood  on  the  shore  of  the 
new  sea  he  took  possession  of  it  in  the  name  of 
the  King  of  Spain,  calling  it  "The  South  Sea,"  in 
contradistinction  to  the  North  Sea,  as  the  Atlan- 
tic was  then  called  by  the  Spaniards.  It  was 
left  for  Magellan,  seven  years  later,  to  give  it  its 
permanent  appellation — El  Mar  Pacifico  (the 
peaceful  sea). 

Ballena  (whale).    See  page  41. 

Bally,  or  Bully  Mountains,  in  Shasta  County 
near  the  Trinity  line,  is  from  the  Wintun  In- 
dian boli  (pronounced  "bawli"),  and  means 
"spirit."  Bully  Choop,  Yallo  Bally,  and  Bully 
Hill  in  Shasta  County  have  the  same  origin. — 
(Kroeber,  p.  35.) 

358 


THEIR  MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


Bandini  (a  surname).    See  page  78. 

Los  Banos  (the  baths),  is  in  Merced  County, 
thirty-five  miles  southwest  of  Merced.  This  place 
was  so  called  from  the  creek,  which  has  large, 
deep  pools  of  clear  water  that  were  used  by 
the  early  inhabitants  as  a  bathing  place. 

Barranca  (ravine). 

La  Barranca  Colorado  (the  red  ravine). 

Barril  (barrel). 

Barro  (clay). 

Batata  (sweet  potato)  is  in  Merced  County, 
and  is  so  called  because  it  lies  in  the  best  sweet 
potato  growing  district  in  California. 

Baulines,  see  page  232. 

Bella  Vista  (beautiful  view). 

Bellota  (acorn)  is  in  San  Joaquin  County. 

Benicia  (a  surname).    See  page  227. 

Berenda,  probably  a  mispelling  of  berrenda 
(female  antelope),  is  in  Madera  County. 

Berrendo  (antelope) .    See  page  42. 

Berrendos  (antelopes).    See  page  42. 

Berros  (water-cresses)  is  in  San  Luis  Obispo 
County. 

Berry essa  (a  surname).  This  name  has  been 
corrupted  in  the  spelling,  which  was  originally 
Berrelleza.  The  names  of  Nicolas  Antonio  Ber- 
relleza  and  Maria  Isabel  Berrelleza  are  given 
among  the  first  settlers  of  San  Francisco  in  the 

359 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Anza  expedition  of  1776.  (Diary  of  Father  Font, 
p.  447.) 

Blanco  (white).  See  page  157.  In  early  days 
an  American  named  Thomas  White  lived  near 
the  present  town  of  Blanco.  His  name  was  trans- 
lated into  the  Spanish  form  for  white,  bianco, 
by  the  native  residents,  and  the  place  became 
known  by  that  name. 

Boca  (mouth)  in  this  case  refers  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Truckee  River,  in  Nevada  County. 

La  Boca  de  la  Canada  del  Pinole  (the  mouth 
of  the  valley  of  the  cereal  meal).  This  was  a 
land  grant,  which  received  its  peculiar  name 
from  the  fact  of  the  Spaniards  having  been  com- 
pelled to  live  on  pinole  while  they  awaited  the 
return  of  a  party  with  supplies  from  Monterey. 
See  Pinole,  page  236. 

Boca  de  la  Playa  (mouth  of  the  beach) . 

Boca  de  Santa  Monica  (mouth  of  Santa  Mon- 
ica). 

Bodega  (a  surname) .    See  page  263. 

Bolinas,  probably  a  corruption  of  Baulines,  an 
Indian  word.  See  page  231. 

'Bolsa  (pocket),  often  used  to  mean  a  "shut-in 
place."  See  page  78. 

La  Bolsa  (the  pocket)  is  near  Newport  Beach. 

Las  Bolsas  (the  pockets).  Land  grant  in 
Orange  County. 

Bolsa  de  Chamisal  (pocket  of  the  wild  cane,  or 
360 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


reeds).  The  chamisal,  sometimes  incorrectly 
spelled  chemisal,  is  defined  in  the  dictionaries  as 
wild  cane,  or  reed,  but  in  California,  at  least,  it 
is  applied  to  a  "shrub  attaining  a  height  of  six 
or  eight  feet.  Its  thickets  are  almost  impassable 
except  by  bears  or  similar  animals,  as  the 
branches  are  low  and  very  stiff  and  tough.  In 
some  places  men  are  only  able  to  penetrate  it 
by  crawling." — Mr.  Charles  B.  Turrill.) 

Bolsa  Chica  (little  pocket). 

Bolsa  de  las  Escorpinas  (pocket  of  the  perch.) 

Bolsa  Nueva  y  Moro  Co  jo  (new  pocket  and 
lame  Moor) .  The  word  Moro  was  often  used  to 
mean  anything  black,  as,  for  instance,  a  lame 
black  horse,  for  which  the  Moro  Cojo  Rancho, 
near  Monterey,  is  said  to  have  been  named. 

Bolsa  del  Pdjaro  (pocket  of  the  bird). 

Bolsa  del  Potrero,  y  Moro  Cojo  6  la  Sagrada 
Familia  (pocket  of  the  pasture,  and  the  lame 
Moor  or  the  Holy  Family) .  This  is  the  combined 
name  of  several  land  grants. 

Bolsa  de  San  Felipe  (pocket  of  St.  Philip) . 

Bonita  (pretty)  is  in  San  Diego  County. 

Bonito  (pretty).    See  page  232. 

Boronda  Creek  is  in  Monterey  County.  Bor- 
onda  is  the  name  of  a  pioneer  family. 

Borregas  (sheep)  creek.  It  is  in  Santa  Cruz 
County. 

La  Brea  (the  asphalt).    See  page  55. 
361 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Bronco  (wild,  rough)  Flat.  Bronco  was  the 
name  usually  applied  to  the  small,  wiry  horses 
formerly  in  use  in  California,  especially  on  the 
cattle  ranges.  These  horses  were  valued  for 
their  endurance  and  speed,  but  were  inclined  to 
be  unruly. 

El  Buchon  (the  big  craw).    See  page  127. 

Buena  Park  (good  park),  a  rather  unsatisfac- 
tory mixture  of  Spanish  and  English,  is  in 
Orange  County.  Park  is  commonly  used  in  Mex- 
ico; e.  g.,  Popo  Park  at  Popocatapetyl. 

Buena  Vista  (good  view). 

Bueyes  (oxen). 

Los  Burros  (the  donkeys,  or  jackasses),  is  in 
San  Luis  Obispo  County. 

Caballada  Creek  (creek  of  the  horse  drove). 
It  is  in  San  Luis  Obispo  County. 

Cabeza  (head). 

Dos  Cabezas  (two  heads). 

Cabeza  de  Santa  Rosa  (head  of  St.  Rose) . 

Cabezon  (big  head).    See  page  79. 

Cabrillo  (a  surname),  the  name  of  a  cape  on 
the  coast  of  Mendocino  County.  See  page  264. 
The  name  of  Juan  Rodriguez  Cabrillo  is  one  of 
the  most  eminent  in  the  annals  of  California,  for 
he  was  the  first  white  man  to  set  eyes  on  her 
shores.  See  page  27. 

Cadiz,  between  Needles  and  Barstow,  was 
probably  named  for  the  well-known  Spanish 

362 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


city  of  the  same  name.  "In  naming  the  stations 
on  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  from  Mojave 
to  Needles  going  east,  an  alphabetical  order  was 
used,  Barstow,  Cadiz,  Daggett,  etc.,  until  Needles 
was  reached." — (Mr.  Charles  B.  Turrill.) 

Cahto,  Mendocino  County,  Indian,  probable 
meaning  "lake." 

Cahaenga,  near  Los  Angeles,  is  an  Indian 
name,  that  of  a  former  village. 

Cahuilla  is  said  be  a  corruption  of  the  Indian 
word  Ka-wia.  See  page  79. 

El  Cajon  (the  box,  or  canyon).  The  name  of 
El  Cajon  was  first  given  to  a  valley  lying  about 
fifteen  miles  east  of  San  Diego.  The  valley  com- 
prises about  16,000  acres  of  level  land  entirely 
surrounded  by  hills  several  hundred  feet  high, 
thus  presenting  a  box-like  appearance  that  gave 
rise  to  its  name.  See  pages  43  and  341. 

Cajon  Pass  is  in  San  Bernardino  County. 

Calabazas  (pumpkins).    See  page  79. 

Calaveras  (skulls).    See  page  313. 

Calera  Valley  (lime  kiln  valley)  is  on  the 
ocean  shore  of  San  Mateo  County. 

Calexico,  on  the  border  of  Lower  California, 
is  a  hybrid  word  made  up  of  the  first  part  of 
California  and  the  last  of  Mexico.  Its  counter- 
part on  the  Mexican  side  is  Mexicali,  in  which 
the  process  is  reversed. 

Caliente  (hot).    See  page  290. 
363 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Caliente  Creek.  See  page  43.  This  creek  was 
so  named  because  its  water  is  warm. 

California.    See  page  13. 

Calistoga.    See  page  264. 

Calneva  and  Calvada  are  two  more  hybrids, 
made  up  of  syllables  from  California  and  Ne- 
vada. 

Calor,  near  the  Oregon  line,  is  likely  to  cause 
confusion  by  its  resemblance  to  the  Spanish 
word  calor  (heat) ;  this  Calor  is  one  of  those 
composite  words  to  which  Californians  are  so 
regrettably  addicted,  and  is  made  up  of  the  first 
syllables  of  California  and  Oregon. 

Calpella  was  named  for  the  chief  of  a  village 
situated  just  south  of  the  present  town,  near 
Porno,  in  Mendocino  County.  The  chief's  name 
was  Kalpela. 

Calzona  is  another  trap  for  the  unwary, 
through  its  resemblance  to  the  Spanish  word 
calzones  (breeches) ;  it  is  one  more  of  those  bor- 
der towns  bearing  names  made  up  of  the  syl- 
lables of  two  state  names,  in  this  case,  California 
and  Arizona. 

Camanche,  a  post  town  in  Calaveras  County, 
was  so  named  in  honor  of  the  great  Camanche, 
or  Comanche  tribe,  whose  remarkable  qualities 
are  thus  described  by  Father  Morfi  in  his  Me/n- 
orms de  Texas,  a  document  written  about,  the 
year  1778:  "The  Comanche  nation  is  composed 

364 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


of  five  thousand  fighting  men,  divided  into  five 
tribes,  each  with  a  different  name.  They  are 
very  superior  to  all  the  others  in  number  of 
people,  extent  of  the  territory  that  they  occupy, 
modesty  of  their  dress,  hospitality  to  all  who 
visit  them,  humanity  toward  all  captives  except 
Apaches,  and  in  their  bravery,  which  is  remark- 
able even  in  the  women.  They  live  by  hunting 
and  war,  and  this  wandering  disposition  is  the 
worst  obstacle  to  their  reduction,  for  it  induces 
them  to  steal.  Nevertheless,  they  are  very  gen- 
erous with  what  they  have,  and  so  proud  that 
one  alone  is  capable  of  facing  a  whole  camp  of 
enemies  if  he  cannot  escape  without  witnesses 
to  his  flight."  Both  spellings  are  used  in  the 
original  records. 

Camaritas  (small  cabins  or  rooms) .  The  ap- 
plication of  this  name  has  not  been  ascertained. 
It  may  refer  to  Indian  huts  seen  by  the  Span- 
iards, or  may  have  a  totally  different  meaning. 

Camino  (road)  is  in  Eldorado  County. 

Camino  Real  (royal  road,  or  the  King's  high- 
way). See  pages  336  and  341. 

Campo  (a  level  field,  a  camp,  the  country). 
See  page  43. 

El  Campo  (the  field  or  camp),  places  in  Marin 
and  San  Diego  Counties. 

Campo  de  los  Franceses  (field  or  camp  of  the 
Frenchmen). 

365 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Campo  seco  (dry  field  or  camp),  in  Calaveras 
County. 

Camulos,  or  Kamulas.    See  page  104. 

Cantua  Creek  is  in  Fresno  County.  Cantua 
is  a  family  name. 

Canada  (valley  or  dale  between  mountains). 
In  California  Canada  is  commonly  used  in  the 
sense  of  canyon.  See  page  341. 

Canada  de  los  Alisos  (valley  of  the  alders). 

Canada  del  Bautismo  (valley  of  the  baptism) . 
See  page  43. 

Canada  de  los  Capitancillos  (valley  of  the  lit- 
tle captains). 

Canada  de  la  Carpinteria  (valley  of  the  car- 
penter-shop). See  page  100. 

Canada  de  los  Coches  (valley  of  the  pigs). 
Coche,  used  in  the  sense  of  "pig,"  is  a  Mexican- 
ism,  said  to  have  originated  in  the  state  of 
Sonora. 

Canada  del  Corte  de  Madera  (valley  of  the 
wood-cutting  place). 

Canada  Gobernadora  (valley  of  the  gobeina- 
dora,  a  certain  plant  native  to  California).  It 
is  in  Orange  County. 

Canada  del  Hambre  y  las  Bolsas  (valley  of 
hunger  and  the  pockets),  a  name  said  to  have 
been  given  to  this  canyon  because  some  Spanish 
soldiers  nearly  perished  of  starvation  there.  A 
bolsa  is  a  pocket,  or  shut-in  place. 

366 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


Canada  de  los  Ladrones  (valley  of  the  thieves) 
is  in  Santa  Barbara  County. 

Canada  Larga  (long  valley). 

Canada  de  los  Muertos  (valley  of  the  dead). 

Canada  de  los  Nogales  (valley  of  the  walnut- 
trees)  . 

Canada  de  los  Noques  (valley  of  the  tan-pits). 

Canada  del  Osito  (valley  of  the  little  bear). 
See  page  127. 

Canada  de  los  Osos  y  Pecho  y  Islay,  valley  of 
the  bears  and  breast  (perhaps  referring  to  Pecho 
Mountain  in  San  Luis  Obispo  County),  and  wild 
cherry.  Islay  is  said  to  be  a  California  Indian 
word  meaning  wild  cherry.  Islais  Creek,  San 
Francisco,  may  take  its  name  from  the  wild 
cherry. 

Canada  de  los  Pinos  (valley  of  the  pines). 

Canada  de  Raymundo  (valley  of  Raymond). 

Canada  del  Rincon  en  el  Rio  San  Lorenzo  de 
Santa  Cruz  (valley  of  the  corner  section  on  the 
river  San  Lorenzo  of  Santa  Cruz) . 

Canada  del  Rodeo  (valley  of  the  rodeo)  is  in 
Santa  Barbara  County. 

Canada  Salada  (salt  valley). 

Canada  de  Sal  si  Puedes  (valley  of  "get  out  if 
you  can").  See  page  111. 

Canada  de  San  Felipe  y  las  Animas  (valley  of 
St.  Philip  and  the  souls). 

Canada  Segunda  (second  valley). 
367 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Canada  Tortuga  (valley  of  the  turtle)  is  in 
Santa  Barbara  County. 

Canada  de  los  Vaqueros  (valley  of  the  cow- 
boys) . 

Canada  Verde,  y  Arroyo  de  la  Purisima  Con- 
cepcion  (green  valley  and  creek  of  the  immacu- 
late concepcion). 

Capay,  in  Yolo  County,  is  from  the  Indian 
kapai,  meaning  "stream." — (Kroeber,  p.  37.) 

Capistrano.    See  page  37. 

El  Capitdn  (the  captain),  the  name  of  a  preci- 
pice in  the  Yosemite  Valley. 

Capitdn  (captain),  the  name  of  a  flag  station 
in  Santa  Barbara  County.  It  was  named  for  a 
ranch  owned  by  Captain  Ortega,  which  was 
called  Capitan,  in  reference  to  his  title. 

Capitancillos  (little  captains) .  Canada  de  los 
Capitancillos  is  the  name  of  a  canyon  in  Santa 
Clara  County  and  the  creek  which  flows  through 
it.  The  origin  of  this  name  has  not  yet  been  un- 
earthed, but  it  may  possibly  have  some  reference 
to  Indian  leaders  met  at  that  place  by  the  Span- 
iards, who  had  a  habit  of  referring  to  such 
chiefs  or  leaders  in  the  documents  as  capitan- 
cillos,  "little  captains."  This,  however,  is  merely 
conjecture. 

Capitan  Grande  (big  captain).  The  origin  of 
this  name  has  not  been  ascertained,  but  it  prob- 
ably referred  to  an  Indian  chief.  It  is  the  name 

368 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


of  an  Indian  reservation  in  San  Diego  County. 

La  Carbonera  (the  charcoal  pit). 

Carmelo  (garden,  or  garden-land).  See  page 
157. 

Carmenita  (the  diminutive  of  the  feminine 
name  Carmen).  The  name  of  a  station  on  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad  in  Los  Angeles 
County.  The  usual  form  is  Carmcncita. 

Carnadero,  a  corrupt  word  used  to  mean 
"butchering-place." 

Came  Humana  (human  flesh) .    See  page  250. 

Cameras  (sheep) .  Camera  is  especially  ap- 
plied to  sheep  used  for  mutton,  rather  than  wool. 

Carpinteria  (carpenter-shop).  See  pages  100 
and  341. 

Carquinez.    See  pages  233  and  341. 

Carriso  (large  water  bunch  grass  or  reed- 
grass)  .  See  page  44. 

Casa  Blanca  (white  house).    See  page  79. 

Casa  Desierta  (deserted  house)  is  in  Los  An- 
geles County. 

Casa  Grande  (big  house).  This  place  was  so 
called  by  the  Spanish  explorers  on  account  of  an 
unusually  large  Indian  house  they  saw  here. 
They  speak  of  finding  a  "large  village  of  many 
houses,  and  among  them  one  extremely  large." 
This  place  is  not  to  be  confused  with  the  famous 
Casa  Grande  in  Arizona. 

Casa  Loma  (house  hill).  Improper  combina- 
369 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


Canada  Tortuga  (valley  of  the  turtle)  is  in 
Santa  Barbara  County. 

Canada  de  los  Vaqueros  (valley  of  the  cow- 
boys) . 

Canada  Verde,  y  Arroyo  de  la  Purisima  Con- 
ception (green  valley  and  creek  of  the  immacu- 
late concepcion). 

Capay,  in  Yolo  County,  is  from  the  Indian 
kapai,  meaning  "stream." — (Kroeber,  p.  37.) 

Capistrano.    See  page  37. 

El  Capitdn  (the  captain),  the  name  of  a  preci- 
pice in  the  Yosemite  Valley. 

Capitdn  (captain),  the  name  of  a  flag  station 
in  Santa  Barbara  County.  It  was  named  for  a 
ranch  owned  by  Captain  Ortega,  which  was 
called  Capitan,  in  reference  to  his  title. 

Capitancillos  (little  captains).  Canada  de  los 
Capitancillos  is  the  name  of  a  canyon  in  Santa 
Clara  County  and  the  creek  which  flows  through 
it.  The  origin  of  this  name  has  not  yet  been  un- 
earthed, but  it  may  possibly  have  some  reference 
to  Indian  leaders  met  at  that  place  by  the  Span- 
iards, who  had  a  habit  of  referring  to  such 
chiefs  or  leaders  in  the  documents  as  Capitan- 
cillos, "little  captains."  This,  however,  is  merely 
conjecture. 

Capitan  Grande  (big  captain).  The  origin  of 
this  name  has  not  been  ascertained,  but  it  prob- 
ably referred  to  an  Indian  chief.  It  is  the  name 

368 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


of  an  Indian  reservation  in  San  Diego  County. 

La  Carbonera  (the  charcoal  pit). 

Carmelo  (garden,  or  garden-land).  See  page 
157. 

Carmenita  (the  diminutive  of  the  feminine 
name  Carmen).  The  name  of  a  station  on  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad  in  Los  Angeles 
County.  The  usual  form  is  Carmcncita. 

Carnadero,  a  corrupt  word  used  to  mean 
"butchering-place." 

Came  Humana  (human  flesh) .    See  page  250. 

Cameras  (sheep).  Camera  is  especially  ap- 
plied to  sheep  used  for  mutton,  rather  than  wool. 

Carpinteria  (carpenter-shop).  See  pages  100 
and  341. 

Carquinez.    See  pages  233  and  341. 

Carriso  (large  water  bunch  grass  or  reed- 
grass)  .  See  page  44. 

Casa  Blanca  (white  house).    See  page  79. 

Casa  Desierta  (deserted  house)  is  in  Los  An- 
geles County. 

Casa  Grande  (big  house).  This  place  was  so 
called  by  the  Spanish  explorers  on  account  of  an 
unusually  large  Indian  house  they  saw  here. 
They  speak  of  finding  a  "large  village  of  many 
houses,  and  among  them  one  extremely  large." 
This  place  is  not  to  be  confused  with  the  famous 
Casa  Grande  in  Arizona. 

Casa  Loma  (house  hill).  Improper  combina- 
369 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 

XT 


Cerro  Chico  (little  hill). 

Cerro  Gordo   (fat,  thick  hill).     See  page  331. 
Los  Cerritos  (the  little  hills),  in  Los  Angeles 
County. 

Los  Cerros  (the  hills). 

Cerro  de  las  Posas  (hill  of  the  pools  or  wells) . 
The  translation  "hill  of  the  seat"  has  been  given 
to  this  by  one  writer,  apparently  without  any 
justification.  Posa,  or  poso,  was  in  constant  use 
among  the  Spaniards  in  the  sense  of  "pool"  or 
"well." 

Cerro  del  Venado  (hill  of  the  deer) . 

El  Chamisal  (thicket  of  wild  cane  or  reed) . 

Chico  (little) .    See  page  290. 

Chico  Vecino  (Chico  neighbor)  is  the  name  of 
a  suburb  of  the  town  of  Chico  in  Butte  County. 

Chileno  (Chilean,  native  of  Chile).  See  page 
264. 

Las  Chimeneas  (the  chimneys),  old  volcanic 
rock  shaped  like  chimneys.  This  place  is  in  San 
Luis  Obispo  County. 

Chino,  a  word  which  may  mean  a  Chinese,  or 
a  person  with  curly  hair.  The  town  of  Chino, 
in  San  Bernardino  County,  took  its  name  from 
the  land  grant  called  Santa  Ana  del  Chino,  but 
why  the  grant  was  so  called  has  not  been  ascer- 
tained. 

Chiquita  (little). 

372 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


Chiquito  Peak  (little  peak)  is  in  Fresno 
County. 

Cholame  was  the  name  of  an  Indian  tribe. 
See  page  128. 

El  Chorro  (a  gushing  stream  of  water).  This 
place  is  in  San  Luis  Obispo  County.  It  is  the 
name  of  a  creek,  and  was  so  named  for  a  water- 
fall on  its  course. 

Chowchilla  was  the  name  of  a  Yokuts  tribe  of 
the  Central  Valley.  See  page  290. 

Chualar.    See  page  158. 

Chula  Vista  (pretty  view).    See  page  44. 

Cienega  (swamp)  is  in  Los  Angeles  County. 

Las  Cienegas  (the  swamps). 

Las  Cienegitas  (the  little  swamps). 

Cienega  del  Gabildn  (the  swamp  of  the  hawk) . 

Cienega  Larga  (long  swamp)  is  in  San  Ber- 
nardino County. 

Cienega  de  los  Paicines,  swamp  of  the  Paicines 
(Indian  tribe). 

Cienega  Redonda  (round  swamp)  is  in  San 
Bernardino  County. 

El  Cierbo  (the  deer),  properly  spelled  ciervo, 
is  the  name  of  a  town  in  Contra  Costa  County. 

Cima  (summit),  between  San  Bernardino  and 
Las  Vegas. 

Cimarron  (wild,  unruly).  The  Spaniards  ap- 
plied this  word  to  plants  or  animals  indiscrim- 
inately, sometimes  using  it  in  reference  to  the 

373 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


wild  grapes  which  they  found  growing  in  such 
profusion  in  California,  sometimes  in  reference 
to  wild  Indians.  The  writer  who  translated  it  as 
"lost  river"  must  have  drawn  upon  his  imagina- 
tion for  that  definition. 

Cisco.    See  page  331. 

Los  Coches  (the  pigs). 

Codornices  Creek  (quail  creek). 

Co  jo  (lame) .    See  page  105. 

Rancheria  del  Co  jo  (village  of  the  lame  one), 
so  called  from  a  lame  Indian  seen  there. 

Coloma,  a  town  in  El  Dorado  County,  so 
named  from  the  Koloma  tribe,  a  division  of  the 
Nishinam  family.  It  was  at  this  place  that  Sut- 
ter's  Mill,  where  gold  was  discovered  in  1848, 
was  situated,  and  it  is  also  there  that  the  Native 
Sons  erected  a  monument  to  John  W.  Marshall. 

Colorado  (red). 

Colusa,  an  Indian  word,  meaning  not  ascer- 
tained. See  page  271. 

Conception.    See  page  105. 

Conejo  (rabbit)  is  the  name  of  several  places. 
See  pages  80  and  341. 

Conejo  Peak  (rabbit  peak)  is  in  Ventura 
County. 

Contra  Costa  (opposite  coast).    See  page  234. 

Cordero  (literally  "lamb"),  but  probably  a 
surname  here. 

Cordova,  near  Sacramento.  Cordova  or  Cor- 
374 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


doba  is  the  name  of  a  province  of  the  Argentine 
Republic,  in  South  America.  Cattle  raising  is  its 
chief  industry.  The  California  town  may  have 
been  directly  named  for  the  city  of  Cordova  in 
Mexico. 

Corona  (crown). 

Coronado  Beach.    See  page  34. 

Corral  (yard,  enclosed  piece  of  ground) .  See 
pages  158  and  341. 

Corralillos  Canyon  (canyon  of  the  little  cor- 
rals, or  yards).  It  is  in  Santa  Barbara  County. 

Los  Corralitos  (the  little  yards). 

Corral  de  Piedra  (yard  enclosed  by  a  stone 
fence).  See  page  159. 

Corral  de  Tierra  (earth  corral) .    See  page  159. 

Corral  Vie  jo  (old  corral) ,  in  Monterey  County. 

Corte  Madera  (wood-cutting  place)  is  in  Marin 
County.  When  the  Spaniards  prepared  to  build 
their  houses  or  church  buildings  they  sent  car- 
penters to  the  woods  to  cut  the  timbers,  and  it  is 
probably  in  reference  to  some  such  matter  that 
this  place  was  named. 

Cortina,  a  town  in  Colusa  County.  Cortina, 
the  Spanish  word  for  "curtain,"  is  a  corruption 
of  Kotina,  the  name  of  the  chief  of  a  former  vil- 
lage near  the  east  bank  of  Cortina  Creek. 

Coso  Mountains,  in  Inyo  County,  were  named 
for  the  Coso  or  Cosho  Indians. 

La  Costa  (the  coast).    See  page  44. 
375 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Cosumne,  a  word  of  Indian  derivation,  said  to 
mean  "fish,  salmon."  See  page  278.  If  the 
theory  that  the  suffix  umne  means  "place  of"  be 
correct,  then  it  may  be  that  the  meaning  of 
Cosumne  is  "place  of  fish,"  probably  referring  to 
salmon  fisheries. 

Cotate,  in  Sonoma  County,  derived  its  name 
from  a  former  Indian  village.  Mr.  George  Page, 
whose  family  have  been  in  possession  of  the 
Cotate  ranch  since  1849,  states  that  he  has  never 
been  able  to  ascertain  the  meaning  of  the  word. 

Coyote  (western  wolf) .    See  pages  44  and  178. 

Los  Coyotes  (the  wolves). 

Cristianitos  (little  Christians)  Canyon.  It  is 
in  San  Diego  County. 

Crucero  means  here  "cross-roads,"  in  refer- 
ence to  a  railroad  crossing. 

Las  Cruces  (the  crosses)  is  in  Santa  Barbara 
County. 

Cruz  (cross).  Santa  Cruz  (holy  cross).  See 
page  153. 

Cucamonga,  in  San  Bernardino  County,  de- 
rived its  name  from  an  Indian  village.  See  page 
80. 

Cueros  de  Venado  (hides  of  deer),  the  name 
of  a  land  grant. 

Cuesta  (hill,  ridge,  slope  of  a  hill) .  Cuesta  is 
the  name  of  the  old  stage  road  leading  from 
Santa  Margarita  to  San  Luis  Obispo.  It  was  so 

376 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


named  because   the  road  came  over   the  crest 
of  the  Santa  Lucia  range.    See  page  128. 

Cupertino.    See  page  178. 

Cuyamaca.    See  page  45. 

Cypress  Point.    See  page  145. 

Dehesa  (pasture  ground)  is  in  San  Diego 
County. 

Delgada  Point  (thin,  or  narrow  point).  See 
page  265. 

De  Luz  (literally  "of  light"),  but  in  this  case 
a  surname. 

Del  Mar  (of  the  sea).    Modern. 

Del  Monte  (of  the  wood  or  hill) .  The  Hotel 
del  Monte,  near  Monterey,  was  so  called  from  the 
grove  of  magnificent  live-oaks  in  which  it  stands. 
Modern. 

Del  Norte  (of  the  north)  is  the  name  of  the 
county  in  the  extreme  northwestern  corner  of 
the  state.  The  second  part  of  this  name  is  fre- 
quently mispronounced  as  one  syllable — nort.  It 
should  be  in  two  syllables,  pronounced  nor-tay. 

Del  Paso  (of  the  pass). 

Del  Rey  (of  the  king). 

Del  Rio  (of  the  river) . 

Del  Rosa  (of  the  rose).  Unless  this  is  a  sur- 
name, the  construction  is  incorrect,  and  should 
be  De  la  Rosa. 

Del  Sur  (of  the  south)  is  in  Los  Angeles 
County. 

377 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Descanso  (rest).    See  page  45. 

Diablo  (devil).    See  page  219. 

Diaz  Canyon  is  in  Fresno  County.  Diaz  is  a 
family  name. 

Dolores  (sorrows,  pains) .  For  Mission  Dolores 
see  pages  196  and  341. 

Dominguez  (Dominic)  is  a  Christian  name.  It 
is  in  Los  Angeles  County. 

El  Dorado  (the  gilded  man).    See  page  305. 

Dos  (two). 

Dos  Cabezas  (two  heads). 

Dos  Palmas  (two  palms). 

Dos  Palos  (two  sticks,  or  trees).    See  page  291. 

Dos  Pueblos  (two  towns).    See  page  105. 

Dos  Rios  (two  rivers)  is  in  Mendocino  County, 
at  the  junction  of  the  south  and  middle  forks  of 
the  Eel  River.  It  appears  on  some  maps  in  its 
English  form  of  Two  Rivers. 

Dos  Valles  (two  valleys). 

Duarte  (a  surname) .    See  page  80. 

Dulzura  (sweetness).    See  page  45. 

Point  Duma,  on  the  coast  north  of  San  Pedro, 
was  named  by  Vancouver  for  "the  reverend  friar 
Father  Francisco  Duma,  priest  at  Buena  Ven- 
tura," as  an  expression  of  his  gratitude  for  the 
father's  courtesy  in  furnishing  the  explorers 
with  abundant  supplies  of  vegetables  from  the 
mission  gardens. 

Eliseo  (Elisha). 

378 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


Embarcadero  (landing-place).  There  were  a 
number  of  embarcaderos  in  the  state,  in  So- 
noma, Santa  Clara  and  other  places.  The  street 
skirting  the  San  Francisco  water  front  is  now 
called  the  Embarcadero,  having  been  recently 
changed  from  East  Street. 

Encanto  (enchantment,  charm),  is  in  San 
Diego  County.  Encanto  "was  so  named  on  ac- 
count of  its  especially  pleasant  climate,  being 
frostless,  and  always  cool  in  the  summer,  with 
beautiful  views  of  the  ocean  and  bay  and  the 
city  of  San  Diego.  It  was  named  by  Miss  Alice 
Klauber."— (W.  A.  Shaules.) 

Encinal  (oak  woods)  is  in  Santa  Clara  County. 

Encinal  y  Buena  Esperanza  (oak  woods  and 
good  hope),  the  combined  name  of  two  land 
grants. 

Las  Encinitas  (the  little  live-oaks).  See  page 
45. 

El  Encino  (the  live-oak).    See  page  213. 

Ensenada  (bay),  used  often  by  the  Spaniards 
in  referring  to  a  large,  wide-open  bay. 

Entre  Napa  (between  Napa),  the  name  of  a 
land  grant  referring  to  the  land  between  Napa 
Creek  and  Napa  River. 

Entre  Napa  6  Rincon  de  los  Cameras,  com- 
bined name  of  two  land  grants  (between  Napa 
or  corner  of  the  sheep) . 

Escalon  (step)  is  the  name  of  a  place  twenty 
379 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


miles  from  Stockton,  on  the  Santa  Fe  Road. 
According  to  Mr.  Romane  Moll,  a  resident  of 
Escalon,  the  word  is  used  in  the  sense  of  "step- 
ping-stone," and  was  taken  from  a  city  in  Mex- 
ico, where  an  important  battle  was  fought  dur- 
ing the  recent  revolution. 

Escondido  (hidden) .    See  page  45. 

El  Escorpion  (the  scorpion). 

Esmeralda  (emerald).  See  page  331. 

Espada  (sword).    See  page  101. 

Esparto  (a  sort  of  tough  feather  grass).  See 
page  291. 

Esperanza  (hope).  See  page  291. 

Espinosa  (a  surname).  This  place  is  in  Mon- 
terey County. 

Espiritu  Santo  (holy  ghost). 

Esquon  (a  surname). 

Estanislao.    See  page  281. 

Estero  (an  estuary  or  creek  into  which  the 
tide  flows  at  flood  time) . 

Los  Esteros  (the  estuaries).    See  page  128. 

Estero  Americano  (American  Estuary). 

Estrada  (a  surname).  This  place  is  in  Mon- 
terey County. 

Estrella  (star).    See  page  128. 

Estudillo  (a  surname).    Near  San  Leandro. 

Etiwanda,  in  San  Bernardino  County,  is  p 
transplanted  Indian  name,  given  ir  honor  of  an 
Indian  chief  of  Michigan,  by  Mr.  George  Chaff  ey, 

380 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


founder  of  the  California  colony. 

Falda  (skirt,  slope  of  a  hill).  In  San  Diego 
County. 

Famoso  (famous)  is  in  Kern  County.  The 
origin  of  this  name  has  not  been  ascertained. 

Fandango  Peak  is  in  Modoc  County.  The 
fandango  is  a  Spanish  dance.  Its  application  in 
this  case  has  not  been  ascertained. 

Farallones  (small  pointed  islands  in  the  sea). 
See  pages  214  and  341. 

Feather  River.    See  page  303. 

Felipe  (Philip). 

Feliz  (happy,  fortunate),  also  a  surname. 

Fernandez  (a  surname). 

Fernando  (Ferdinand). 

Point  Firmin,  north  of  San  Pedro,  was  named 
by  Vancouver  for  the  father  president  of  the 
Franciscan  Order. 

Las  Flores  (the  flowers) .    See  page  80. 

Fortunas  (fortunes).  Cape  Fortunas  is  on  the 
coast  of  Humboldt  County,  north  of  Cape  Men- 
docino.  See  page  265. 

Fresno  (ash  tree).    See  page  284. 

Gabildn,  or  Gavildn  (hawk).    See  page  159. 

Las  Gallinas  (the  chickens),  in  Marin  County. 
A  tribe  called  Gallinomero  occupied  Dry  Creek 
and  Russian  River  below  Healdsburg,  and  there 
may  be  some  connection  between  this  name  and 
Las  Gallinas  Rancho  in  Marin  County.  Las 

381 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Gallinas  may  be  a  mere  corruption  of  Galli- 
nomero. 

Gamboa  Point,  on  the  coast  of  Monterey 
County.  Gamboa  is  a  surname. 

Garapato  Creek  is  possibly  a  corrupted  spell- 
ing of  Garapilo  (wood-tick)  Creek. 

Garcia  (a  surname).     See  page  265. 

Garvanza  (chick-pea).    See  page  80. 

Gato  (cat)  is  in  Santa  Barbara  County. 

Los  Gatos  (the  cats).    See  pages  177  and  341. 

Gaviota  (sea  gull).  Probably  so  called  from 
the  large  number  of  these  birds  which  frequent 
the  mouth  of  the  little  creek  that  flows  into  the 
sea  at  this  point.  See  page  106. 

German  (a  surname  of  a  pioneer  family) . 

Golden  Gate.    See  page  199. 

La  Goleta  (the  schooner).  This  place  is  said 
to  have  been  so  called  because  a  schooner  was 
stranded  there  in  the  early  days.  See  page  106. 

Gonzales  (a  surname).    See  page  159. 

Gorda  (fat) .    See  page  159. 

Graciosa  (graceful,  beautiful). 

Granada  is  twenty-seven  miles  from  San 
Francisco,  on  the  Ocean  Shore  Line,  and  was 
probably  named  for  the  province  in  Spain  of 
the  same  name.  Granada  also  means  pome- 
granate. 

Las  Grullas  (the  cranes).    See  page  159. 
382 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


Guadalupe  (a  Christian  name) .  See  pages  106 
and  341. 

Guadalupe  y  Llanitos  de  los  Correos  (Guada- 
lupe and  the  plains  of  the  mails),  combined 
name  of  two  land  grants.  Correos  (mails)  may 
have  been  used  in  reference  to  mails  brought  by 
messenger  to  the  Spaniards  while  they  were  en- 
camped upon  these  plains.  In  March,  1776,  Cap- 
tain Anza,  Sergeant  Moraga,  and  Father  Font 
passed  through  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  on  their 
way  to  the  port  of  San  Francisco.  On  their  re- 
turn trip  they  found  a  little  river  pouring  into 
the  head  of  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco,  and  they 
named  that  river  Nuestra  Senora  de  Guadalupe. 
A  tributary  of  this  river  is  named  Los  Alamitos 
(the  little  cottonwoods). 

Gualala.    See  page  265. 

Guenoc,  an  Indian  word,  meaning  not  ascer- 
tained. 

Guijarral  (pebblestone)  Hills  are  in  Fresno 
County. 

Los  Guilicos,  in  Sonoma  County,  named  for  a 
former  Indian  tribe  living  in  Napa  County,  near 
Santa  Rosa. 

Guinda  (fruit  of  the  wild  cherry).  This  place 
is  in  Yolo  County,  near  Woodland. 

La  Habra  (the  opening,  or  pass),  here  refers 
to  an  opening  in  the  hills,  and  is  situated  a  short 

383 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


distance  southeast  of  Whittier,  in  Orange 
County. 

Hacienda.  This  word  has  several  significa- 
tions, one  of  them  being  reduction  works  in  a 
mine.  It  was  in  this  sense  that  it  was  used  at 
New  Alma  den  quicksilver  mine,  about  twelve 
miles  south  of  San  Jose.  A  village  has  grown 
up  at  this  point  and  has  inherited  the  name  of 
Hacienda  from  the  reduction  works  at  the  mine. 

Hermosa  (beautiful).    See  page  80. 

Hermosillo,  probably  named  for  the  town 
of  Hermosillo  in  Mexico. 

Hernandez  (a  surname)  is  in  San  Benito 
County. 

Hetch  Hetchy.  A  deep  valley  in  the  Sierra. 
See  page  331. 

Honcut,  a  place  south  of  Oroville,  in  Butte 
County,  named  from  a  tribe  of  Maidu  Indians 
who  formerly  lived  near  the  mouth  of  Honkut 
creek. 

Honda  (deep).  Honda  is  in  Santa  Barbara 
County,  and  there  is  also  La  Honda,  referring  to 
a  deep  canyon,  in  San  Mateo  County.  The  name 
is  incomplete  in  this  form,  and  probably  in  its 
original  form  was  La  Canada  Honda. 

Hoopa.    See  page  265. 

Hornitos  (little  ovens).    See  page  291. 

Huasna,  in  San  Luis  Obispo  County,  received 
its  name  from  a  former  Indian  village  near  Puri- 

384 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


sima  Mission  in  Santa  Barbara  County.  The 
signification  of  the  word  has  not  been  ascer- 
tained. 

Hueneme,  the  name  of  a  former  Chumash 
Indian  village  on  the  coast,  a  few  miles  south  of 
Saticoy,  in  Ventura  County. 

Los  Huecos  (the  hollows). 

Huerhuero  Creek.  Huerhuero  is  said  to  be  a 
corruption  of  giiergiiero,  a  stream  of  water 
which  makes  a  gurgling  noise.  An  attempt  is 
made  to  imitate  the  sound  by  the  word.  Huer- 
huero Creek  is  in  San  Luis  Obispo  County,  near 
Paso  de  Robles. 

Huerla  de  Romualdo  6  el  Chorro  (orchard  of 
Romualdo,  a  Christian  name,  or  the  gushing 
stream).  This  is  the  combined  name  of  two 
land  grants. 

Huichica,  the  name  of  a  land  grant  derived 
from  an  Indian  village  called  Hutchi,  formerly 
situated  near  the  plaza  in  the  town  of  Sonoma. 

Huililic,  the  name  of  a  former  Indian  ranch- 
eria  near  Santa  Barbara.  Mentioned  in  the  mis- 
sion archives. 

Hunto  (eye)  is  the  Indian  name  of  a  moun- 
tain in  the  Yosemite. 

Hyampom,  in  Trinity  County,  is  an  Indian 
name,  meaning  not  ascertained. 

laqud,  the  name  of  a  place  in  Humboldt 
County,  was  a  sort  of  familiar  salutation,  some- 

385 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


think  like  our  "hello,"  with  which  the  Indians 
of  Humboldt  and  adjacent  counties  greeted  each 
other  when  they  met.  From  hearing  the  word 
so  often  the  whites  finally  adopted  it  as  the  name 
of  this  place. 

Ignacio  (Ignatius). 

Inaja,  or  Inoje,  was  the  name  of  a  former 
Indian  village  near  San  Diego.  Mentioned  in 
the  mission  archives.  The  meaning  of  the  word 
Inaja  is  "my  water." 

Indio  (Indian).    See  page  80. 

Inyo.    See  page  329. 

Islais  Creek  may  have  been  named  for  the 
wild  cherry  trees  (islay)  growing  along  its  banks. 

Isleta  (small  island). 

Jacinto  (hyacinth),  also  used  as  a  Christian 
name. 

Jamacha  was  a  former  Indian  village  near  San 
Diego.  It  is  the  name  of  a  wild  squash  plant. 

Jamon  (ham).  The  application  of  this  pe- 
culiar name  has  not  been  ascertained,  but  there 
is  always  the  possibility  that  it  is  a  corrupted 
word  and  has  no  such  meaning. 

Jamul,  in  San  Diego  County,  is  a  place  name 
of  the  Diegueno  Indians.  It  means  "foam"  or 
"lather,"  but  what  the  application  may  be  has 
not  been  ascertained. 

Jarame,  the  name  of  a  tribe  thought  to  have 
386 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


been  natives  of  the  region  around  San  Antonio, 
Texas. 

Jesus  Maria  (Jesus  Mary). 

Jimeno,  a  surname  of  a  pioneer  family. 

La  Jolla.    See  pages  46  and  342. 

Jolon.    See  page  159. 

La  Joya  (the  jewel).  This  name  is  compara- 
tively modern,  and  has  its  origin  in  the  fact  that 
the  residents,  like  those  of  every  other  Califor- 
nia town,  thought  their  place  the  bright  partic- 
ular "jewel"  of  the  locality.  La  Joya  Peak  is  in 
Los  Angeles  County.  See  pages  80  and  342. 

Juan   (John).     Juana   (Jane). 

Joaquin  (Joachim)  Rocks  and  Ridge  are  in 
Fresno  County. 

Juarez  (a  surname).  The  name  of  Benito 
Juarez,  the  Mexican  patriot  who  led  the  national 
armies  to  victory  against  Maximilian,  is  one  of 
which  every  native  of  that  country  must  be 
proud.  This  man  was  a  brilliant  example  of  the 
triumph  of  natural  genius  over  tremendous  ob- 
stacles. He  was  of  pure  native  blood,  and  had 
so  few  advantages  in  his  youth  that  at  the  age 
of  twelve  he  was  still  unable  to  read  or  write, 
or  even  to  speak  the  Spanish  language.  Yet, 
his  ambition  once  aroused,  he  succeeded  in  ac- 
quiring a  collegiate  education,  graduating  with 
the  degree  of  Bachiller  (bachelor  in  science  or 
art),  and  later  became  President  of  the  Mexican 

387 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Republic.  Among  the  early  settlers  of  Califor- 
nia is  the  name  of  Cayetano  Juarez,  who  was  at 
one  time  an  official  at  Solano,  and  who  took  part 
in  many  Indian  expeditions. 

La  Junta  (union,  junction,  meeting  of  persons 
for  consultation).  See  page  342. 

Las  Juntas  (the  junctions,  or  meetings). 

Kawia,  the  name  of  an  Indian  tribe  near 
Fresno. 

Kings  County  and  River.    See  page  284. 

Klamath.    See  page  253. 

Laguna  (lake  or  lagoon),  in  Sonoma  and 
Orange  Counties.  There  were  many  lagunas  in 
the  state.  See  page  81. 

Laguna  del  Corral  (lake  or  lagoon  of  the 
yard).  See  page  46. 

Point  Laguna  (lake  or  lagoon  point).  See 
page  266. 

Laguna  de  las  Calabasas  (lagoon  of  the  pump- 
kins) .  The  name  refers  to  the  wild  gourds  that 
grow  in  that  locality.  See  page  79. 

Laguna  de  la  Merced  (lagoon  or  lake  of 
mercy).  Lake  Merced. 

Laguna  de  los  Palos  Colorados  (lagoon  of  the 
redwoods) . 

Laguna  Puerca  (muddy  lagoon),  in  the  San 
Francisco  district.  This  name  does  not  mean 
"Hog  Lake,"  as  has  been  stated. 

Laguna  del  Rey  (lagoon  of  the  king) . 
388 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


Laguna  de  San  Antonio  (lagoon  of  St.  An- 
thony) . 

Laguna  Seca  (dry  lagoon).    See  page  342. 

Lagunitas  (little  lagoons  or  lakes),  one  in 
Inyo  County  and  one  in  Marin  County.  See 
page  342. 

Lancha  Plana  (flat-boat).    See  page  332. 

Largo  (long).  This  place  is  in  Mendocino 
County.  The  name  of  this  station  represents  an 
inversion  of  the  usual  order  of  naming,  since  it 
is  a  translation  into  Spanish  of  the  name  of 
Mr.  L.  F.  Long,  a  pioneer  of  Mendocino  County. 

Laureles  (laurels).    See  page  160. 

Lechuza  (barn-yard  owl)  Canyon.  It  is  in 
Los  Angeles  County. 

Lerdo  (a  surname)  is  in  Kern  County. 

La  Liebre  (the  hare,  or  jack-rabbit). 

Linda  Rosa  (lovely  rose)  is  forty-eight  miles 
from  San  Bernardino. 

Linda  Vista  (lovely  view).    See  page  47. 

Lindo  Lake  (beautiful  lake).  It  is  in  San 
Diego  County. 

Llagas  (wounds,  or  stigmata).    See  page  179. 

Llanada  (a  wide,  level  plain).    See  page  160. 

Llanitos  de  los  Correos  (plains  of  the  mails). 
Correo  was  used  to  mean  a  King's  messenger, 
mail  or  bag  of  letters,  and  it  impossible  that  at 
this  point  a  messenger  or  mail  carrier  caught  up 
with  the  exploring  party. 

391 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Llano  (a  flat,  level  field).  There  are  places 
bearing  this  name  in  Los  Angeles  and  Sonoma 
Counties. 

Llano  de  Buena  Vista  (plain  of  the  good 
view) . 

Llano  de  Santa  Rosa  (plain  of  St.  Rose). 

Llano  Seco  (dry  plain). 

Llano  de  Tequisqaite  (plain  of  saltpetre) .  Te- 
quisquite  is  an  Aztec  word. 

Llorones  (the  weepers),  a  name  given  to  a 
place  in  the  vicinity  of  San  Francisco  Bay,  for 
the  reason  given  in  Palou's  account  of  the  expe- 
dition to  that  region  in  1775,  as  follows:  "The 
launch  went  out  again  with  the  pilot  Bautista 
Aguiray  to  examine  the  arm  of  the  sea  that  runs 
to  the  southeast;  they  saw  nothing  more  than 
two  or  three  Indians  who  made  no  other  dem- 
onstration than  to  weep,  for  which  reason  the 
place  was  called  La  Ensenada  de  los  Llorones 
(the  bay  of  the  weepers)."  This  was  Mission 
Bay. 

Lobitos  (little  seals)  is  on  the  Ocean  Shore 
Line,  near  San  Francisco. 

Lobos  (wolves,  also  sea-wolves,  or  seals).  See 
pages  160  and  230. 

Loconoma  Valley.  The  name  of  this  valley, 
in  which  Middletown,  Lake  County,  is  situated,  is 
an  Indian  word  meaning  "wild  goose  village."- 

392 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


(Krocber.) 

Loma  (hill). 

Point  Loma  (hill  point) .    See  page  47. 

Loma  Linda  (beautiful  hill)  is  in  San  Ber- 
nardino County. 

Loma  Pelona  (bald  hill)  is  near  Santa  Bar- 
bara. 

Loma  Portal  (hill  gate) .  Exactly  what  mean- 
ing is  intended  to  be  conveyed  by  this  very 
evidently  American-given  name  it  is  difficult  to 
say.  Certainly  no  Spaniard  would  have  used 
such  a  combination.  It  is  in  San  Diego  County. 

Loma  Prieta  (dark  hill).    See  page  160. 

Lomas  de  la  Purification  (hills  of  the  purifi- 
cation). 

Lomas  de  Santa  Ana  (hills  of  Santa  Ana), 
land  grant  in  Orange  County. 

Lomas  de  Santiago  (hills  of  St.  James). 

Loma  Vista  (hill  view),  near  Los  Angeles. 
Modern  and  improper  in  construction.  It  should 
be  Vista  de  la  Loma. 

Lomerias  Muertas  (dead  hills),  possibly 
should  be  Lomerias  de  los  Muertos  (hills  of  the 
dead). 

Lomitas  (little  hills),  north  of  San  Francisco. 

Lompoc,  an  Indian  name.  See  page  108.  It 
has  been  stated  that  this  word  means  "little 
lake,"  but  there  seems  to  be  small  authority  for 
such  a  definition. 

393 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Lopez  (a  surname) .    See  page  128. 

Lorenzo  (Lawrence). 

Lucas  Canyon,  in  Orange  County.  This  is 
probably  an  abbreviation  of  San  Lucas,  whose 
story  is  told  under  the  proper  heading. 

Lugo  (a  surname),  that  of  a  family  of  early 
settlers.  This  place  is  thirty  miles  from  San 
Bernardino. 

Luis  (Louis)  range.  It  is  in  San  Luis  Obispo 
County. 

Luna  (moon)  Mountain.  It  is  in  San  Bernar- 
dino County. 

De  Luz  (a  surname).  Corral  de  Luz  was  the 
name  given  to  a  place  in  San  Bernardino  County 
by  the  Spaniards  in  reference  to  a  large  horse 
corral  built  by  an  Englishman  named  Luce, 
which  they  Spanicized  into  Luz.  See  page  47. 

Madera  (wood).    See  page  284. 

Madrone,  properly  spelled  Madrono,  a  native 
tree  of  California.  See  page  179. 

Malaga,  the  name  of  a  province  in  Southern 
Spain  celebrated  for  its  exports  of  grapes,  rais- 
ins, oranges,  lemons,  figs  and  almonds.  As  rais- 
ins are  among  the  chief  products  of  this  part  of 
Fresno  County,  the  town  of  Malaga  was  so 
named  from  the  Spanish  province. 

Manca,  or  Manka.  To  prevent  the  unwary 
from  falling  into  the  erroneous  belief  that  this 
name  is  Spanish  or  Indian,  the  rather  humorous 

394 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


story  of  Manka  is  told  here.  The  story  goes  that 
it  was  named  for  a  German  who  came  there  in 
'67,  built  a  little  sixteen  by  twenty-four  foot 
shanty  and  sold  whisky.  It  was  his  proud  boast 
that  in  the  fifteen  years  he  ran  this  business 
he  never  renewed  his  stock.  The  inference  may 
be  drawn. 

Manteca  (lard,  butter)  is  near  Modesto.  This 
place  was  so  called  by  the  railroad  company  in 
reference  to  a  creamery  existing  there.  In  Span- 
ish America  butter  is  called  mantequilla. 

Manzana  (apple)  is  in  Los  Angeles  County. 

Manzanar  (an  orchard  of  apple  trees).  This 
place  is  in  Inyo  County. 

Manzanita  (little  apple),  a  native  shrub  that 
is  one  of  the  most  striking  objects  in  the  Cali- 
fornia woods.  Fremont  says  of  it :  "A  new  and 
singular  shrub  was  very  frequent  to-day.  It 
branched  out  near  the  ground,  forming  a  clump 
eight  to  ten  feet  high,  with  pale  green  leaves  of 
an  oval  form,  and  the  body  and  branches  had  a 
naked  appearance  as  if  stripped  of  the  bark, 
which  is  very  smooth  and  thin,  of  a  chocolate 
color,  contrasting  well  with  the  pale  green  of 
the  leaves."  Towns  in  Marin,  San  Diego,  and 
Tehama  Counties  bear  the  name  of  Manzanita. 

Powers,  in  his  Tribes  of  California,  describes 
the  method  of  making  manzanita  cider  practiced 
by  the  Indians,  as  follows :  "After  reducing  the 

395 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


berries  to  flour  by  pounding,  they  carefully  re- 
move all  the  seeds  and  skins,  then  soak  the  flour 
in  water  for  a  considerable  length  of  time.  A 
squaw  then  heaps  it  up  in  a  little  mound,  with  a 
crater  in  the  center,  into  which  she  pours  a 
minute  stream  of  water,  allowing  it  to  percolate 
through.  In  this  way  she  gets  about  a  gallon 
an  hour  of  a  really  delicious  beverage,  clear, 
cool,  clean,  and  richer  than  most  California  ap- 
ple cider.  As  the  Indians  always  drink  it  up 
before  it  has  time  to  ferment,  it  is  never  intox- 
icating." Fremont  also  mentions  this  as  a  very 
delicious  drink  that  he  had  tasted  when  among 
the  Indians. 

Manzanita  Knob,  in  Tulare  County,  is  near  the 
summit  of  the  Sierras. 

Mapache  Peak  (raccoon  peak) . 

Mar  (the  sea). 

Del  Mar  (of  the  sea). 

El  Mar  Pacifico  (the  peaceful  sea) .  See  page 
20. 

Mare  Island.    See  page  208. 

Maricopa  is  the  name  of  an  Arizona  tribe.  The 
word  is  said  to  mean  "bean  people,"  which  is 
probably  the  correct  definition. —  (A.  L.  Kroe- 
ber.) 

Marin.    See  page  223. 

Marina  (shore,  seacoast)  is  in  Monterey 
396 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


County.     A   portion  of  the  sea-beach   in   San 
Francisco  is  also  called  The  Marina. 

Mariposa  (butterfly).    See  page  319. 

Martinez  (a  surname).    See  page  234. 

Matilija.    See  pages  102  and  342. 

Medanos,  also  spelled  Meganos  (sand-banks, 
or  dunes) .  This  place  is  in  Contra  Costa  County. 
These  dunes,  between  Antioch  and  Black  Dia- 
mond, were  named  in  May,  1817,  by  Lieutenant 
Luis  Argiiello,  who  led  an  exploring  party  into 
that  region.  The  place  still  retains  the  name. 

Media  (middle)  is  in  Madera  County. 

Mendocino.    See  page  252. 

Mendota  (a  surname)  is  in  Fresno  County. 

Merced  (mercy).    See  pages  282  and  342. 

Mesa  (table,  table-land).  See  pages  47  and 
342. 

La  Mesa  (the  table  or  table-land)  is  in  San 
Diego  County. 

Mesa  de  Burro  (table-land  of  the  donkey)  is 
in  Riverside  County. 

Mesa  Coyote  (coyote  table-land) .  It  is  in  Mon- 
terey County. 

Mesa  Grande  (big  table-land).    See  page  48. 

Mesa  de  Ojo  de  Agua  (table-land  of  the 
spring) . 

Mesquite  (a  native  shrub  of  the  locust  va- 
riety) . 

397 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


Milagro  Valley  (miracle  valley)  is  on  the 
ocean  shore  of  San  Mateo  County. 

Milpitas.    See  page  180. 

La  Mirada  (the  view).    See  page  81. 

El  Mirage  (mirage)  is  in  San  Bernardino 
County.  It  is  more  properly  spelled  Miraje. 

Miramar  (sea-view)  is  the  name  of  a  post 
town  in  San  Diego  County  and  of  a  summer  re- 
sort near  Santa  Barbara.  Miramar  is  the  name 
of  the  king's  chalet  at  the  famous  resort  in  Spain, 
San  Sebastian.  The  chalet  stands  on  an  eminence 
overlooking  the  Bay  of  Biscay. 

Miramontes  (a  surname).  Candelario  Mira- 
montes,  a  native  of  Mexico,  was  the  grantee  of 
the  Pilarcitos  Rancho  in  '41. 

Mision  Vieja,  or  La  Paz  (old  mission  or  the 
peace).  Land  grant. 

Mision  Vieja  de  la  Purisima  (old  mission  of 
the  most  pure,  that  is,  of  the  Immaculate  Con- 
ception. 

Mocho  Peak,  in  Santa  Clara  County.  Mocho 
means  "cropped,  cut  off." 

Modesto  (modest).    See  page  295. 

Modoc  (people  of  the  south).    See  page  254. 

Mojave,  or  Mohave.  Mojave,  also  spelled 
Mohave,  is  an  Indian  tribal  name  of  disputed 
meaning.  It  has  been  stated  that  it  comes  from 
hamucklihabi "(three  hills),  but  this  view  is  posi- 
tively contradicted  by  scientists.  In  the  docu- 

398 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


ments  of  the  Spanish  explorers  the  Mojaves  are 
referred  to  as  Amajabas.  The  Mojave  River  is 
remarkable  in  that  it  has  no  true  outlet,  but 
sinks  into  the  alkaline  soil  of  the  desert  near 
the  middle  of  San  Bernardino  County. 

Mokelumne.    See  Moquelumne. 

Molino  (mill,  or  mill-stone).    See  page  81. 

Los  Molinos  (the  mills,  or  mill-stones).  See 
page  81. 

El  Rio  de  los  Molinos  (the  river  of  the  mill- 
stones), now  called  Mill  Creek,  in  Tehama 
County).  See  page  81. 

Mono.    See  page  326. 

Montaluo    (a  surname). 
See  page  81. 

Monte  (hill  or  wood), 
used  in  the  sense  of  "wood"  or  "forest"  by  the 
Spanish-Americans  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

Monte  de  Oro  (mountain  of  gold).  It  is  in 
Butte  County. 

El  Monte  (the  hill  or  the  wood) . 

Del  Monte  (of  the  wood  or  hill).  In  the  case 
of  the  Hotel  del  Monte,  near  Monterey,  the  name 
refers  to  the  grove  of  fine  live-oaks  in  the  center 
of  which  the  hotel  stands. 

Montecito  (little  hill  or  wood) .    See  page  100. 

Monterey  (hill  or  wood  of  the  king) .  See  page 
133. 

Monte  Vista  (mountain  view).    Modern  and 
399 


in  Ventura  County. 
Monte  was  generally 


improper  in  construction.  It  should  be  Vista  del 
Monte. 

Montezuma  Island,  Slough,  and  Hills,  in  So- 
lano  County  on  the  shore  of  Suisun  Bay.  This 
name  has  a  curious  history,  for  it  was  given, 
not  by  Spaniards,  but  by  an  advance  agent  of 
the  Mormons,  Lansing  W.  Hastings,  who  came 
in  1846  to  select  a  site  for  a  colony  of  that  pe- 
culiar sect  in  this  territory,  then  under  Mexican 
rule.  The  story  goes  that  the  Mormons  hoped 
to  gain  the  sympathy  of  the  Mexicans  through 
their  common  hatred  of  the  United  States,  and 
to  further  this  plan  by  flattering  the  Mexicans 
they  called  the  place  Montezuma  City.  Bayard 
Taylor,  in  his  book  Eldorado,  speaks  of  the  city 
of  Montezuma  as  a  solitary  adobe  house  on  a 
sort  of  headland  projecting  into  Suisun  Bay,  and 
fronting  its  rival  three-house  city  of  New  York, 
on  the  Contra  Costa  shore.  Unfortunately  for 
the  Mormons,  their  plan  to  establish  an  inde- 
pendent colony  in  this  fertile  and  sightly  spot 
was  ruined  by  the  raising  of  the  American  flag 
at  Monterey,  and  after  a  stay  of  three  years  the 
lone  colonist  abandoned  his  one-house  city  and 
followed  the  excited  rush  to  the  gold  mines. 
Nothing  but  the  name  remains  to  commemorate 
this  abortive  attempt  to  set  up  a  Mormon  com- 
monwealth in  California. 

Moraga  (a  surname).  Lieutenant  Gabriel 
400 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


Moraga  is  one  of  the  out-standing  figures  in  the 
history  of  California.  He  took  part  in  forty-six 
expeditions  against  the  Indians,  in  all  of  which 
he  displayed  courage  and  ability  of  no  mean 
order.  He  was  the  son  of  Jose  Joaquin  Moraga, 
the  first  commandant  at  San  Francisco,  and  is 
described  by  a  contemporary  as  "a  tall,  well- 
built  man  of  dark  complexion,  brave,  gentle- 
manly, and  the  best  Californian  soldier  of  his 
time."  He  died  in  1823  and  was  buried  in  the 
graveyard  at  the  Santa  Barbara  Mission.  Mor- 
aga village  and  Valley  and  Moraga  Road,  in  the 
east  bay  region,  inadequately  recall  the  name  of 
this  intrepid  explorer. —  (History  of  California, 
Charles  E.  Chapman.) 

Moquelumne,  or  Mokelumne.    See  page  333. 

Moreno  (a  surname).  One  of  the  leading 
members  of  this  numerous  family  was  Antonio 
Moreno,  a  native  of  Lower  California. 

Moro  Co  jo  (lame  Moor).    See  page  160. 

Moron  (hillock,  mound).  This  place  is  near 
Bakersfield. 

Morro  (a  round  headland,  bluff).  This  place, 
in  San  Luis  Obispo  County,  receives  its  name 
from  Morro  Rock,  a  remarkable  round  rock,  600 
feet  high,  situated  at  the  entrance  to  the  bay. 
The  name  has  no  reference  to  its  grey  color,  as 
some  people  imagine,  but  refers  to  its  shape — 
round  like  a  head.  It  is  upon  such  a  rock  that  the 

401 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


well-known  Morro  Castle  at  Havana  is  situated. 
See  page  128. 

Mugu  Point,  on  the  coast  of  Ventura  County. 
The  Mugus  were  a  tribe  of  Indians.  The  word 
mugu  means  "beach." 

Maniz  (a  surname). 

Marietta  (a  surname). 

Nacimiento  (birth),  referring  in  this  case  to 
the  birth  of  Christ.  See  page  128. 

La  Nation  (the  nation) .    See  Del  Rey. 

Napa,  formerly  pronounced  Napa.  See  page 
249. 

Naranjo    (orange-tree),  in  Tulare  County. 

La  Natividad  (the  nativity).    See  page  160. 

Natoma  is  a  name  about  which  the  romanti- 
cists have  concocted  some  pleasing  theories 
upon  very  slender  foundation.  According  to 
scientitsts  it  is  a  tribal  name,  indicating  direc- 
tion, a  favorite  method  of  naming  among  the 
Indians.  It  may  mean  "north  people,"  or  "up- 
stream," or  "down-stream,"  or  some  such  term 
of  direction.  By  a  severe  wrench  of  the  imagi- 
nation, as  has  been  suggested,  it  may  be  consid- 
ered that  "up-stream"  would  eventually  lead  to 
the  mountains,  and  that  in  the  mountains  there 
were  people,  among  whom  there  were  undoubt- 
edly girls,  and  in  this  "long-distance"  manner 
Mr.  Joseph  Redding's  definition  of  Natoma  as 
the  "girl  from  the  mountains"  might  be  evolved, 

402 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


but  the  imagination  is  likely  to  suffer  from  such 
a  violent  strain.  In  the  same  way,  the  persons 
who  believe  it  to  mean  "clear  water"  may  have 
acquired  this  idea  from  the  simple  fact  that  the 
word  contains  an  indirect  reference  to  the 
stream  in  pointing  out  the  direction  of  its  cur- 
rent. It  is  disappointing  perhaps,  but  neverthe- 
less true,  that  California  Indian  nomenclature 
has  little  of  romance  behind  it.  The  Indians 
usually  chose  names  based  upon  practical  ideas, 
most  often  ideas  of  direction,  such  as  "north 
people,"  "south  people,"  etc. 

Navajo,  also  spelled  lavajo  (a  pool  where  cat- 
tle go  to  drink).  This  word  is  said  by  the 
Bureau  of  Ethnology,  however,  to  be  not  Span- 
ish but  Indian. 

Navarro  (a  surname).  In  Mendocino  County, 
west  of  Ukiah. 

Nevada  (snowy).    See  page  299. 

El  Nido  (the  nest) .  See  page  48.  It  is  thought 
that  this  place  was  so  named  because  of  its  lo- 
cation in  the  hills  and  mountains  suggesting  the 
idea  of  a  nest  in  the  landscape,  but  there  is  no 
definite  information  about  it.  It  is  far  more 
probable  that  the  name  originated  in  some  defin- 
ite story  about  a  bird's  nest,  just  as  the  name 
Rio  Nido  is  said  to  have  come  from  an  eagle's 
nest,  once  seen  in  a  tree  on  the  bank  of  the  river. 

403 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Los  Nietos  (literally  "the  grandchildren,"  but 
in  this  case  a  surname).  See  page  82. 

Nimshew,  in  Butte  County.  This  is  an  Indian 
word,  from  Nimsewi  (big  river),  a  division  of 
Maidu  Indians  living  on  upper  Butte  Creek,  in 
Butte  County,  near  the  edge  of  the  timber. 

Nipomo,  in  San  Luis  Obispo  County,  is  prob- 
ably Indian,  but  its  meaning  has  not  been  ascer- 
tained. 

Los  Nogales  (the  walnut-trees). 

Del  Norte  (of  the  north).    See  page  265. 

Novato  (new,  beginning  anything,  but  possibly 
in  this  case  a  surname).  The  exact  origin  of 
the  name  of  this  California  town  has  not  been 
ascertained.  The  place  is  in  Marin  County  and 
as  there  was  a  land  grant  there  called  El  Rancho 
de  Novato,  the  probabilities  are  that  it  is  a  sur- 
name of  some  family  of  early  settlers. 

Noyo  is  in  Mendocino  County.  It  was  the 
Indian  name  of  a  creek,  not  the  one  now  bearing 
the  name  of  Noyo,  but  of  another  one  in  the 
vicinity. 

Nuestra  Senora  del  Refugio  (our  lady  of  ref- 
uge). 

Nuevo  (new).    In  San  Diego  County. 

Oakland  was  originally  called  Las  Encinas 
(the  oaks),  having  been  named  by  the  com- 
mandante  at  Monterey  as  the  result  of  the  report 
of  Lieutenant  Vallejo  of  the  great  number  of 

404 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


those  trees  growing  upon  the  spot. —  (Memoirs 
of  the  Vallejos,  edited  by  James  H.  Wilkins,  San 
Francisco  Bulletin,  January,  1914.) 

Oceano  (ocean),  near  San  Luis  Obispo. 

Ochumnes.  This  is  a  name  of  Indian  origin, 
but  the  meaning  of  it  has  not  yet  been  ascer- 
tained. It  is  one  of  the  numerous  group  of 
Sierran  Indian  names  ending  in  the  suffix 
"umne,"  which  Professor  Kroeber  thinks  may 
mean  "place  of."  If  that  be  the  case,  Ochumne 
may  mean  "place  of  the  village  of  Ocho."  It  is 
in  Sacramento  County. 

Ojai,  the  name  of  a  former  Indian  village  in 
Ventura  County,  popularly  translated  as  "nest" 
or  "big  tree,"  neither  of  which  can  be  looked 
upon  as  authentic.  According  to  Professor  A. 
L.  Kroeber,  the  meaning  of  the  word  Ojai  is 
"moon." 

Los  Ojitos  (little  springs).    See  page  59. 

Ojo  de  Agua  (spring  of  water).  See  pages  60 
and  342. 

Ojo  de  Agua  de  Figueroa  (spring  of  Figueroa), 
the  last  word  being  a  surname.  The  Figueroa 
family  were  among  the  earliest  settlers. 

Ojo  Caliente  (hot  spring). 

Ojo  de  Agua  del  Coche  (spring  of  the  pig). 

Olancha,  in  Inyo  County,  just  below  Owens 
Lake,  was  named  for  the  Olanches  Indians  of 
southeastern  California. 

405 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


Olema.    See  page  235. 

Oliveras  (olive-trees),  in  San  Luis  Obispo 
County.  Olivera  is  also  a  surname. 

Los  Olivos  (the  olives).    See  page  109. 

Olla  (a  round  earthen  pot,  also  a  whirlpool  in 
a  river  or  sea).  Its  application  here  has  not 
been  ascertained. 

Olompali  was  named  for  a  former  large  Mo- 
quelumnan  village  in  Marin  County,  about  six 
miles  south  of  Petaluma.  It  means  "south." 

Omo,  in  El  Dorado  County,  is  the  name  of  a 
Moquel  village. 

Oro  Fino  (fine  gold) ,  in  Siskiyou  County.  See 
page  266. 

Oro  Grande  (large  or  coarse  gold),  forty-nine 
miles  north  of  San  Bernardino.  Also  in  Madera 
County. 

Oro  Loma  (gold  hill) .  This  name  is  a  partic- 
ularly bad  attempt  at  giving  a  Spanish  name 
without  sufficient  knowledge.  It  should  be 
Loma  de  Oro  (hill  of  gold).  It  is  in  Fresno 
County. 

Oro  Rico  (rich  gold) ,  the  name  of  a  mine  near 
Sonora. 

Oroville  (gold-town).    See  page  295. 

Oso  Flaco  (thin  bear).  In  San  Luis  Obispo 
County. 

Los  Osos  (the  bears).    See  page  128. 
406 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


Otay,  or  Otai,  was  the  name  of  a  former  In- 
dian village  near  San  Diego.  It  may  have  first 
been  applied  to  the  Otey  or  Otay  land  grant. 
Otay  is  named  from  a  Diegueno  Indian  word 
meaning  "brushy." 

Otero  (literally  a  "hill,  or  eminence,"  but 
probably  a  surname  here). 

Pachappa,  near  Riverside,  Indian  name, 
meaning  not  ascertained. 

Pachcco  (a  surname).    See  page  235. 

Pacoima,  near  Los  Angeles,  an  Indian  word, 
meaning  not  ascertained. 

Paicines,  also  spelled  Pajines.     See  page  160. 

Pdjaro  (bird).    See  pages  152  and  342. 

Pa/a.    See  page  35. 

Palmas  (palms) . 

Dos  Palmas  (two  palms),  in  Riverside  County, 
so  called  from  two  giant  palms  near  a  spring. 

Palo,  literally  "stick,"  was  used  by  the  Span- 
iards in  the  sense  of  "tree." 

Palo  Alto  (high  tree).     See  page  172. 

Palo  Blanco  (white  stick,  or  tree). 

Palo  Cedro  (cedar  tree),  in  Shasta  County. 

Palo  Colorado  (redwood  tree).  These  trees 
were  first  observed  and  named  by  Gaspar  de 
Portola,  the  discoverer  of  San  Francisco  Bay. 

Dos  Palos  (two  sticks,  or  trees).  See  page  291. 

Paloma  (dove,  pigeon). 

Palomares  (dove-cotes,  or  places  where  pi- 
407 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


geons  congregate).  The  ridge  of  hills  in  San 
Mateo  County  called  Los  Palomares  probably 
drew  its  name  from  the  presence  of  large  num- 
bers of  wild  pigeons,  which  were  very  common 
through  the  coast  region.  Palomares  Creek  in 
Alameda  County  no  doubt  has  the  same  origin. 

Palo  Prieto  (dark  tree)  Canyon.  It  is  in  San 
Luis  Obispo  County. 

Palo  Verde  (green  tree). 

Panamint  Range.    See  page  334. 

Panocha.    See  page  161. 

La  Panza  (the  paunch),  in  San  Luis  Obispo 
County,  so  named  by  some  hunters  who  placed 
the  paunch  of  a  beef  to  catch  bear.  La  Paleta 
(shoulder-blade)  and  El  Carnaso  (loin)  were 
put  out  in  other  places,  and  the  names  still 
remain. 

Las  Papas  (potatoes)  Hill  is  in  the  San  Fran- 
cisco district.  Papa  (potato)  is  provincial  and 
American. 

Paraiso  (paradise).    See  page  161. 

Paraje  de  Sanchez  (place  or  station  of  San- 
chez) . 

Pasadena  (crown  of  the  valley) .    See  page  82. 

Paskenta,  in  Tehama  County,  is  Indian  and 
means  "under  the  bank." 

Paso  (pass). 

El  Paso  (the  pass),  of  the  Truckee  River. 

El  Paso  Peak  (the  pass  peak),  in  Kern  County. 
408 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


Del  Paso  (of  the  pass),  near  Sacramento. 

Paso  de  Bartolo  (pass  of  Bartolo),  the  last  a 
Christian  name. 

Paso  de  Robles  (pass  of  the  oaks) .  See  pages 
123  and  342. 

Pastoria  de  las  Borregas  (pasture  of  the  ewe- 
lambs).  A  sheep  ranch  in  Santa  Clara  County. 

La  Patera  (a  place  where  ducks  congregate). 
In  early  days  the  fresh  water  swamps  near  here 
abounded  with  ducks.  La  Patera  is  a  flag  station 
in  Santa  Barbara  County. 

La  Paz  (the  peace).  Probably  a  peace  ar- 
ranged with  the  Indians,  or  it  may  have  been 
named  for  La  Paz  in  Lower  California. 

Pecho  (breast)  Rock  is  so  named  from  the 
shape  of  the  rock.  It  is  near  San  Luis  Obispo. 

Pedernales  (flints).     See  page  103. 

Penasco  Rocks  (rocky  hills)  is  in  Fresno 
County. 

Los  Penasquitos  (the  little  cliffs),  in  San  Diego 
County. 

Penitencia  Creek  (penitence  creek) .  The  rea- 
son for  this  name  has  not  been  ascertained.  It 
is  in  Santa  Clara  County. 

Peralta  (a  surname),  that  of  a  pioneer  family. 

Peras  (pears)  Creek,  in  Los  Angeles  County. 

Los  Perros  (the  dogs),  possibly  Indian  dogs. 

Pescadero  Point  (fishing-place  point).  See 
page  235. 

409 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Petaluma.    See  page  266. 

Picachos  Mountains,  a  ridge  east  of  San  Fran- 
cisco Bay.  Pichacos  are  frequent,  isolated,  coni- 
cal peaks. 

Picacho  (top,  sharp-pointed  summit)  is  the 
name  of  a  post  village  in  Imperial  County. 

Pico  (a  surname),  ten  miles  from  Los  Angeles. 
Jose  Maria  Pico  of  Sinaloa  was  the  founder  of 
this  family,  and  its  most  notable  member  was 
his  son,  Pio  Pico,  at  one  time  governor  of  Cal- 
ifornia. According  to  Bancroft,  the  character 
of  Pio  Pico  was  a  mixture  of  good  and  bad,  in 
which  the  good  predominated.  "He  was  abused 
beyond  his  deserts;  he  was  a  man  of  ordinary 
intelligence  and  limited  education;  of  a  gen- 
erous, jovial  disposition,  reckless  and  indolent, 
fond  of  cards  and  women;  disposed  to  be  fair 
and  honorable  in  transactions,  but  not  strong 
enough  to  avoid  being  made  the  tool  of  knaves. 
He  did  not  run  away  with  large  sums  of  money 
obtained  by  sales  of  missions,  as  has  been 
charged." 

Pico  Blanco  (white  peak),  a  noted  mountain 
in  the  Santa  Lucia  Range,  near  Point  Sur. 

Piedra  (stone,  rock),  near  Fresno. 

Piedras  Blancas  (white  rocks) .    See  page  128. 

Piedras  Grandes  (big  rocks) . 

La  Piedra  Pintada  (the  painted  rock).  See 
page  109.' 

410 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


Pilar  (literally  "pillar  of  stone") .  Point  Pilar 
may  have  been  named  for  Nuestra  Senora  del 
Pilar  (Our  Lady  of  the  pillar),  from  a  church  at 
Saragossa,  Spain,  where  there  is  an  image  of  the 
Virgin  on  a  marble  pillar.  Pilar  is  also  a  sur- 
name, that  of  a  pioneer  family,  for  whom  this 
point  may  have  been  named. 

Pilarcitos  (little  pillars). 

Pilitas  (basins  or  water-holes  in  rock) . 

El  Pinal  (the  pine  grove),  in  San  Joaquin 
County. 

Pino  Blanco  (white  pine),  in  Mariposa  County. 

Pino  Grande  (big  pine),  in  El  Dorado  County, 
near  Placerville. 

Pinole  (parched  corn  ground  into  meal). 
Point  Pinole  was  so  named  because  the  expedi- 
tion under  Lieutenant  Vallejo  had  nothing  to 
eat  but  pinole  while  they  waited  at  that  spot 
for  the  return  of  the  cargadores  with  provisions 
from  Monterey. —  (Memoirs  of  the  Vallejos,  ed- 
ited by  James  H.  Wilkins,  San  Francisco  Bulle- 
tin, January,  1914.) 

Pinon  (pine  kernel,  also  the  scrub  pine,  a  very 
picturesque  tree  bearing  a  delicious  nut) . 

Point  Pinos  (point  of  pines) .    See  page  148. 

Tres  Pinos  (three  pines) .    See  page  163. 

Pintado  (painted,  mottled). 

Pinto  Range  (painted  or  mottled  range) .  See 
page  334. 

411 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


El  Piojo  (the  louse),  in  Monterey  County,  a 
short  distance  south  of  Jolon. 

Piru,  near  Camulos,  the  name  of  a  former 
Indian  village.  It  is  the  name  of  a  plant. 

Pismo.    See  page  128. 

Pit  River.    See  page  300. 

La  Pita,  in  San  Diego  County.  Pita  haya  is  the 
fruit  of  the  cactus  called  "prickly  pear." 

Placer.    See  page  309. 

Placerita  (little  placer)  Canyon  is  in  Los  An- 
geles County. 

Placerville.    See  page  310. 

Planada  (a  plain,  level  ground),  seventy-four 
miles  from  Stockton. 

Piano  (a  level  surface),  in  Tulare  County. 

Piano  Trabuco  (plain  of  the  blunderbuss),  a 
valley  in  Orange  County.  This  name  no  doubt 
originated  from  the  story  of  the  party  of  Span- 
iards who  lost  a  blunderbuss  in  that  region. 

La  Playa  (the  beach),  in  Santa  Barbara 
County. 

Pleito  (quarrel,  lawsuit,  bargain).  See  page 
161. 

Plumas  (feathers).    See  page  303. 

Las  Plumas  (the  feathers),  near  Oroville. 

Poluadero  (dusty)  Gap  is  in  Fresno  County. 
Polvadero  is  probably  a  coined  word  from 
polvo,  dust. 

Porno.    See  page  266. 

412 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


Poncho  (cloak,  blanket). 

Poonkiny  (wormwood).  Poonkiny,  sometimes 
misspelled  Pookiny,  is  from  the  Fuki  Indian 
language. 

El  Portal  (the  gate),  the  entrance  to  the  Yo- 
semite  Valley. 

Portold  (a  surname).  Much  argument  has 
arisen  in  regard  to  the  spelling  and  pronuncia- 
tion of  this  name,  but  that  the  form  here  given 
is  the  correct  one  is  proved  beyond  dispute  by 
original  letters  signed  by  Portola's  own  hand 
still  existing  in  the  archives  of  Mexico,  as  well 
as  by  its  use  in  documents  by  many  of  his  con- 
temporaries. 

Two  towns,  one  in  San  Mateo  County  and  the 
other  in  Plumas  County  bear  the  name  of  Por- 
tola,  one  of  the  most  famous  in  the  annals  of 
California.  See  pages  236  and  342. 

Posa  (well,  pool,  also  spelled  by  the  Spaniards 
pozo,  poso).  The  fact  that  posa  also  has  the 
meaning  of  "passing  bell  for  the  dead"  has 
caused  some  rather  ludicrous  mistakes.  For  in- 
stance, La  Posa  de  los  Ositos  (the  pool  of  the 
little  bears),  evidently  refers  to  a  place  where 
some  bears  were  seen  drinking,  and  certainly 
would  be  absurd  translated  as  "the  passing  bell 
of  the  little  bears."  When  used  as  names  of 
places  the  connection  makes  it  quite  clear  that 

413 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


they  were  so  called  in  reference  to  pools  of 
water  present  on  the  spot. 

Las  Positas  (the  little  pools) . 

Las  Positas  y  la  Calera  (the  little  wells,  or 
pools,  and  the  lime-kiln). 

Poso  (pool,  or  well),  in  Kern  County,  and  Poso 
in  San  Luis  Obispo  County. 

Los  Posos  (the  pools,  or  wells),  in  Ventura 
County. 

La  Posta  (person  who  rides  or  travels  post, 
post-house,  military  post,  etc.).  In  the  case  of 
La  Posta,  170  miles  from  the  Mission  Tule  River 
Agency,  it  probably  means  post-station. 

Potrero  (pasture,  generally  for  horses).  See 
pages  48, 161  and  236. 

Potrero  de  los  Cerritos  (pasture  of  the  little 
hills). 

Potrero  Chico  (little  pasture). 

Potrero  Grande  (big  pasture) . 

Potrero  de  los  Pinos  (pasture  of  the  pines)  is 
in  Riverside  County. 

Potrero  y  Rincon  de  San  Pedro  de  Reglado 
(pasture  and  corner  of  St.  Peter  Regalato) .  St. 
Peter  Regalato  was  a  Franciscan,  and  was  es- 
pecially distinguished  for  his  sublime  gift  of 
prayer."  This  was  the  name  of  a  land  grant. 

El  Potrero  de  San  Carlos  (the  pasture  of  St. 
Charles) . 

Potrero  de  San  Francisco  (pasture  of  St.  Fran- 
414 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


cis).  This  district  still  goes  by  the  name  of  "the 
potrero"  in  the  city  of  San  Francisco. 

Potrero  de  San  Luis  Obispo  (pasture  of  St. 
Louis  the  Bishop). 

El  Potrero  de  Santa  Clara  (the  pasture  of  St. 
Clara). 

Poway,  in  San  Diego  County,  is  an  Indian 
place  name. 

Pozo  (pool,  well).    See  page  128. 

Prado  (meadow),  in  Riverside  County.  See 
page  82.  This  place  was  so  named  on  account  of 
its  resemblance  to  a  prairie. 

La  Presa  (dam,  dike).  See  page  48.  This 
place  is  so  called  from  the  Sweetwater  irrigation 
dam  located  there. 

Presidio  (garrison,  prison).    See  page  236. 

Prieta  (dark) ,  a  place  north  of  San  Francisco. 

Los  Prietos  (the  dark  ones). 

Providencia  (providence). 

Pueblo  (town). 

Los  Dos  Pueblos  (the  two  towns).  See  page 
105. 

Puente  (bridge),  near  Los  Angeles.  See  page 
82. 

Las  Puentes  (the  bridges).    See  page  161. 

Puerco  Canyon  (dirty  or  muddy  canyon).  It 
is  in  Los  Angeles  County. 

El  Puerto  (the  port),  of  San  Diego. 

El  Puerto  Creek  (the  pass  creek)  is  in  Stanis- 
415 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


laus  County.  In  its  original  Spanish  form  it  was 
called  El  Arroyo  del  Puerto  (the  creek  of  the 
pass).  It  is  one  of  the  Coast  Range  streams, 
and,  rising  in  these  mountains,  flows  down 
through  canons  until  it  reaches  the  San  Joaquin. 
It  takes  its  name  from  a  natural  pass  through 
which  it  makes  its  way  to  reach  the  level  land 
of  the  west  side. 

Pulgas  (fleas).    See  pages  82  and  228. 

La  Punta  (the  point),  in  San  Diego  County. 

Punta  Almejas  (mussel  point). 

Punta  Ano  Nuevo  (point  New  Year) .  Seepage 
154. 

Punta  Arenas  (sandy  point) .    See  page  342. 

Punta  de  la  Conception  (point  of  the  immacu- 
late conception). 

Punta  Delgada  (thin  or  narrow  point).     See 
page  265. 

Punta  Gorda  (fat  or  thick  point).    See  pages 
109  and  265. 

Punta  Guijarros  (pebble  or  boulder  point) . 

Punta  de  la  Laguna  (point  of  the  lagoon) .  See 
page  266. 

Punta  Loma  (hill  point),  near  San  Diego.    See 
page  47.    It  should  be  Punta  de  la  Loma. 

Punta  de  Pinos  (point  of  pines) .    Near  Monte- 
rey.   See  page  148. 

Punta  de  los  Reyes  (point  of  the  kings).    See 
page  237. 

416 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


Punta  de  las  Ritas  (point  of  the  rites).  See 
page  109. 

Purisima  Conception  (immaculate  concep- 
tion) .  See  page  109. 

Purisima  Point  (point  of  the  most  pure).  On 
the  Santa  Barbara  Coast. 

Purisima  (most  pure),  in  San  Mateo  County. 

Point  Sal  (a  surname).    See  page  111. 

Point  Sur  (south  point).    See  page  162. 

La  Quemada  (the  burned  place),  from  the 
verb  quemar  (to  burn).  This  name  refers  to  a 
custom  prevalent  among  the  Indians  of  burning 
over  large  tracts  of  land  for  the  purpose  of  kill- 
ing the  underbrush  and  encouraging  the  growth 
of  grass,  which  resulted  in  attracting  game.  The 
diaries  of  the  Spaniards  refer  frequently  to  this 
custom,  and  speak  of  finding  a  great  deal  of 
country  burned  over  in  this  way.  One  writer 
has  offered  to  his  astonished  readers  the  trans- 
lation of  La  Quemada  as  "the  over-full,  having 
enough  to  eat." 

Quien  Sabe  (who  knows),  a  familiar  expres- 
sion among  the  Spaniards. 

Quintin.    See  page  239. 

Quinto  (a  surname).  Simon  Tadeo  Quinto 
was  one  of  the  members  of  this  pioneer  family. 

Raimundo  (Raymond). 

Ramirez  (a  surname),  near  Marysville. 

Ramona  (a  Christian  name),  well  known  as 
417 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


that  of  the  heroine  of  Mrs.  Helen  Hunt  Jackson's 
romance. 

Rana  (frog)  Creek.  In  Monterey  County. 

Rancheria,  a  word  meaning  "settlement,"  but 
generally  used  by  the  Spaniards  to  mean  an 
Indian  village. 

Rancheria  del  Baile  de  las  Indias  (village  of 
the  dance  of  the  Indian  women).  See  page  99. 

Rancheria  del  Corral  (village  of  the  yard) . 

Rancheria  de  la  Espada  (village  of  the  sword) . 
See  page  101. 

Rancheria  del  Rio  Estanislao  (village  of  the 
river  Stanislaus). 

Ranchita  de  Santa  Fe  (little  ranch  of  holy 
faith). 

Rancho  del  Puerto  (ranch  of  the  pass). 

Raton  (mouse). 

Real  de  las  Aguilas  (camp  of  the  eagles). 

Redondo  (round).    See  page  82. 

Refugio  (refuge)  is  in  Santa  Barbara  County. 
Rcfugio  is  also  a  Christian  name. 

Represa  (dam),  so  called  on  account  of  a  dam 
at  that  point,  west  of  the  state  prison  at  Folsom. 

Del  Rey  (of  the  king),  also  known  as  El 
Rancho  Nacional  because  it  was  used  to  provide 
meat  and  horses  for  the  military.  This  ranch 
was  in  Fresno  County. 

Reyes  (kings).     See  page  237. 

Ricardo  (Richard)  is  in  Kern  County. 
418 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


Rincon  is  the  interior  angle  formed  by  the 
junction  of  two  walls  or  lines,  and  is  one  of  the 
terms  used  in  the  apportionment  of  land  grants. 

Rincon  (corner)  is  in  San  Bernardino  County. 

El  Rincon  (the  corner)  is  in  Los  Angeles 
County,  and  comprises  rich  agricultural  land  on 
either  side  of  the  Santa  Ana  River. 

Rinconada  is  the  corner  formed  by  two  houses, 
streets,  roads,  or  between  two  mountains. 

Rinconada  del  Arroyo  de  San  Francisquito 
(corner  of  the  creek  of  little  St.  Francis).  Land 
grant. 

Rincon  de  los  Cameras  (corner  of  the  sheep). 
Land  grant. 

Rinconada  de  los  Gatos  (corner  of  the  cats 
—wild-cats).  Land  grant. 

Rincon  de  la  Brea  (corner  of  the  asphalt). 
Land  grant. 

Rincon  de  los  Bueyes  (corner  of  the  oxen). 
Land  grant. 

Rincon  del  Diablo  (corner  of  the  devil) .  Land 
grant. 

Rincon  de  los  Esteros  (corner  of  the  estu- 
aries). Land  grant. 

Rincon  Point  (corner  point).     See  page  111. 

Rincon  de  la  Pncnle  del  Monte  (corner  of  the 
bridge  of  the  wood,  or  hill).  Land  grant. 

Rincon  de  las  Salinas  (corner  of  the  salt 
marshes).  Land  grant. 

421 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Rincon  de  las  Salinas  y  Potrero  Vie  jo  (corner 
of  the  salt  marshes  and  the  old  pasture) .  Land 
grant. 

Rincon  de  San  Francisquito  (corner  of  little 
San  Francisco).  Land  grant. 

Rincon  del  Sanjon  (corner  of  the  slough). 
Land  grant. 

Rio  (river). 

El  Rio  (the  river),  often  improperly  run  to- 
gether as  Elrio,  is  the  name  of  a  village  in  Ven- 
tura County. 

El  Rio  de  los  Berrendos  (the  river  of  the  ante- 
lopes) .  See  page  42. 

Rio  Bravo  (turbulent  or  wild  river).  It  is  in 
Kern  County. 

Rio  Grande  (big  river) . 

Rio  Jesus  Maria  (River  Jesus  Mary).  Land 
grant. 

Rio  Lindo  (beautiful  river).  It  is  in  Sacra- 
mento County. 

El  Rio  de  los  Molinos  (the  river  of  the  mill- 
stones). See  page  81. 

El  Rio  del  Nido  (the  river  of  the  nest),  refer- 
ring to  the  nest  of  an  eagle  once  seen  in  a  tree 
on  the  banks  of  this  stream.  The  name  is  now 
shortened  into  Rio  Nido,  or  Rionido. 

El  Rio  de  Santa  Clara  (the  river  of  St.  Clara). 
Land  grant. 

422 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


El  Rio  de  los  Santos  Reyes  (the  river  of  the 
holy  kings) .  See  page  287. 

Rio  Seco  (dry  river). 

Rio  Vista  (river  view).  See  page  295.  Im- 
proper construction.  It  should  be  Vista  del  Rio. 

El  Rito  (the  rite,  ceremony). 

Rivera,  literally  "brook,  creek,"  but  also  a 
surname.  The  Rivera  family  were  among  the 
pioneers.  See  page  83. 

Roblar  de  la  Miseria  (oak  grove  of  poverty, 
wretchedness) .  It  is  likely  that  in  this  grove  the 
Spaniards  suffered  from  a  shortage  of  food  sup- 
plies, and  named  it  in  memory  of  their  suf- 
ferings. Land  grant. 

Los  Robles  (the  oaks),  ten  miles  from  Los 
Angeles. 

Rodeo  (cattle  round-up).  See  pages  237  and 
342.  The  town  of  Rodeo  was  first  laid  out  to 
maintain  a  large  packing-house  for  meat,  but 
this  was  abandoned,  and  it  has  become  an  oil- 
refining  town. 

Rodeo  de  las  Aguas  (gathering  of  the  waters). 
See  page  83. 

Del  Rosa  (of  the  rose),  in  San  Bernardino 
County.  If  this  is  not  a  surname  it  is  improper 
in  construction,  and  should  be  De  la  Rosa. 

Los  Rosales  (the  rose-bushes). 

Rosario  (rosary),  or  a  procession  of  persons 
who  recite  the  rosary.  Also  a  Christian  name. 

423 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


De  Sabla,  in  Butte  County,  is  a  family  name. 

Sacate  (grass,  hay). 

Sacramento  (sacrament).    See  page  277. 

Sal,  in  the  case  of  Point  Sal,  a  surname.  See 
page  111. 

Salada  (salted,  salty,  saline  land).  It  is  in 
the  salt  marshes  on  the  shore  of  San  Mateo 
County. 

Salazar  (a  surname),  that  of  a  pioneer  family. 

Salida  (exit,  out-gate),  village  in  Stanislaus 
County,  seven  miles  northwest  of  Modesto. 

Salinas  (salt-marshes).  See  pages  148  and 
342. 

Sal  si  Puedes  ("get  out  if  you  can") .  See  page 
111. 

La  Salud  (health).    See  page  174. 

San  Andreas  (St.  Andrew).    See  page  334. 

San  Andres  (St.  Andrew).    See  page  334. 

San  Anselmo  (St.  Anselm).  See  page  237.  St. 
Anselm  was  born  in  Italy  of  noble  parents,  and 
became  a  monk  at  the  age  of  27.  He  was  a  man 
of  great  intellectual  attainments  and  rose  to  a 
high  position  in  the  church,  finally  becoming 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  He  is  noted  for  his 
theological  and  philosophical  writings,  and  for 
his  mild,  gentle,  but  firm  character. 

San  Antonio  (St.  Anthony). 

San  Antonio  de  Padua  (St.  Anthony  of 
Padua).  See  page  141. 

424 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


San  Ardo  (St.  Ardo)  is  in  Monterey  County. 
St.  Ardo,  in  Latin  Smaragdus,  was  a  Benedictine 
monk  who  wrote  a  life  of  St.  Benedict  which  is 
considered  reliable.  He  died  in  843. 

San  Augustine  (properly  Agustin),  born  in 
Numidia,  was  the  son  of  Santa  Monica.  "In 
his  youth  he  was  so  devoted  to  pleasure  that 
his  mother  feared  the  destruction  of  his  char- 
acter," but  he  became  converted  by  the  preach- 
ing of  St.  Ambrose,  and  it  is  thought  that  the  Te 
Deum  was  composed  in  honor  of  the  occasion 
of  his  baptism.  It  is  told  of  him  that  "while 
walking  on  the  sea-shore,  lost  in  meditation 
on  his  great  theme,  the  Discourse  on  the  Trinity, 
he  saw  a  little  child  bringing  water  and  endeav- 
oring to  fill  a  hole  which  he  had  dug  in  the  sand. 
Augustine  asked  him  the  motive  of  his  labors. 
The  child  said  he  intended  to  empty  all  the 
water  of  the  sea  into  this  cavity.  'Impossible!' 
exclaimed  St.  Augustine.  'Not  more  impossible,' 
answered  the  child,  'than  for  thee,  O  Augustine, 
to  explain  the  mystery  on  which  thou  art  now 
meditating.'  St.  Augustine  is  the  patron  of 
theologians  and  learned  men." — (Stories  of  the 
Saints.) 

San  Bcnito  (St.  Benedict).    See  page  161. 

San  Bernabe  (St.  Barnabas,  or  Barnaby).  This 
saint  was  a  native  of  Cyprus,  and  a  cousin  of  St. 
Mark.  "He  labored  with  Paul  at  Antioch,  and 

425 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


tradition  says  he  preached  from  the  gospel  of 
St.  Matthew,  written  by  the  Evangelist  himself, 
which  he  carried  always  with  him,  and  that  it 
had  power  to  heal  the  sick  when  laid  upon  their 
bosoms.  He  was  seized  by  the  Jews  and  cruelly 
martyred,  while  preaching  in  Judea." — (Stories 
of  the  Saints.) 

San  Bernardino  (St.  Bernardinus) .  See  page 
75. 

San  Bernardo  (St.  Bernard).  There  were  two 
saints  of  this  name,  one  born  in  1190  at  Fontaine, 
and  the  other  in  Savoy.  The  latter,  St.  Bernard 
of  Menthon,  is  famous  as  the  founder  of  the  St. 
Bernard  hospitals  in  the  Alps,  where  "the 
monks,  assisted  by  their  dogs,  search  out  and 
care  for  travelers  who  are  lost  in  the  passes  of 
the  mountains,  where  the  storms  are  severe,  and 
the  cold  intense." 

San  Bruno  (St.  Bruno).    See  page  237. 

San  Buenaventura  (St.  Bonaventure) .  See 
page  94. 

San  Carlos  (St.  Charles).  See  page  138. 

San  Clemente  (St.  Clement) .    See  page  83. 

Sandia  Canyon  (watermelon  canyon)  is  in 
Riverside  County. 

San  Dieguito  (little  St.  James). 

San  Diego.  Although  the  dictionary  meaning 
for  Diego  is  always  James,  in  the  case  of  the 

426 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


saint  is  seems  to  be  more  properly  translated 
by  the  Latin  Didacus.  See  page  27. 

San  Dimas,  "probably  St.  Dismas,  is  popularly 
supposed  to  have  been  the  good  or  converted 
robber  on  the  right  side  of  Christ  on  Good  Fri- 
day. In  places  he  is  celebrated  by  the  Latins  on 
March  25.  The  Greeks  have  him  on  a  much 
later  date." — (Fray  Zephyrin  Engelhardt,  O.  F. 
M.)  -San  Dimas  is  the  name  of  a  post-village  in 
Los  Angeles  County. 

San  Domingo,  more  properly  Santo  Domingo 
(St.  Dominick).  St.  Dominick  was  a  Castilian  of 
high  descent,  and  was  the  founder  of  the  Dom- 
inican Order  of  preaching  friars,  who  were 
bound  by  vows  of  absolute  poverty. 

Sanel,  the  name  of  a  former  Indian  village 
called  variously  Se-nel,  Sah-nel,  Sai-nel  and 
Sanel.  "Sanel  is  derived  from  cane  (sweat- 
house),  and  was  the  name  of  a  very  large  vil- 
lage situated  south  of  the  town  of  Sanel,  on  the 
eastern  side  of  Hopland  Valley." — (Barrett,  in 
Univ.  Publ.  in  Arch,  and  Ethn.) 

San  Emygdio,  "English  or  Latin  St.  Emygdius, 
Bishop  and  Martyr,  feast  August  5.  The  Roman 
Martyrology  has  this  on  him:  'St.  Emygdius, 
Bishop  and  Martyr,  was  consecrated  Bishop  by 
Pope  St.  Marcellus  and  sent  to  preach  the  Gospel 
at  Ascoli.  He  received  the  crown  of  Martyrdom 
for  confessing  Christ,  under  Diocletian.'  He  is 

427 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


invoked  against  earthquakes." — (Fray  Zephyrin 
Engelhardt.) 

San  Felipe  (St.  Philip).    See  page  181. 

San  Fernando  (St.  Ferdinand).    See  page  70. 

San  Francisco  (St.  Francis).    See  page  187. 

San  Francisco  de  las  Llagas  (St.  Francis  of  the 
"stigmata").  See  page  179. 

San  Francisquito  (little  St.  Francis).  Land 
grant. 

San  Gabriel  (St.  Gabriel).    See  page  69. 

San  Geronimo  (St.  Jerome).  See  pages  237 
and  342. 

San  Gorgonio  Mountains  and  Pass  are  in  the 
Coast  Range  of  Southern  California.  Their  pa- 
tron saint,  Gorgonius,  suffered  martyrdom  in  304 
at  Nicomedia  during  the  persecution  of  Dio- 
cletian. Gorgonius,  who  had  held  a  high  posi- 
tion in  the  Emperor's  household,  was  subjected 
to  most  frightful  torments,  and  was  finally 
strangled  and  his  body  thrown  into  the  sea. 
It  was,  nevertheless,  secured  by  the  Christians 
and  was  afterwards  carried  to  Rome. 

San  Gregorio  (St.  Gregory).    See  page  238. 

Sanlgnacio  (St.  Ignatius).  St.  Ignatius  Loyola 
was  the  founder  of  the  order  of  the  Jesuits.  "In 
his  youth  he  was  a  page  in  the  court  of  Ferdi- 
nand the  Catholic,  and  later  a  brave  and  gay 
soldier."  He  became  a  permanent  cripple 
through  being  severely  wounded  in  both  legs. 

428 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


While  confined  by  these  sufferings,  he  devoted 
himself  to  reading  the  life  of  Christ,  and  was 
thus  induced  to  take  up  religious  work.  After 
some  years  of  study,  he  induced  five  men  to  join 
him  in  forming  a  community  under  the  title  of 
the  "Company  of  Jesus,"  whose  especial  duties 
are  "first,  preaching;  second,  the  guidance  of 
souls  in  confession;  third,  the  teaching  of  the 
young." 

San  Isidro,  also  spelled  Ysidro  (St.  Isidore). 
There  were  two  saints  bearing  this  name.  St. 
Isidore  the  ploughman  could  neither  read  nor 
write,  but  performed  many  miracles.  His  master 
objected  to  the  time  wasted  by  Isidore  in  prayer, 
but  his  objections  were  silenced  when  he  found, 
upon  entering  the  field  one  day,  the  plough  being 
drawn  by  two  angels,  while  St.  Isidore  knelt  at 
his  devotions.  The  other  St.  Isidore  was  Bishop 
of  Seville,  and  in  the  church  in  that  city  bearing 
his  name,  there  is  a  "magnificent  picture  which 
represents  him  dying  on  the  steps  of  the  altar, 
having  given  all  his  property  to  the  poor."  See 
page  342. 

San  Jacinto  (St.  Hyacinth) .  See  pages  84  and 
342. 

San  Jacinto  Nuevo  y  Potrero  (New  St.  Hya- 
cinth and  the  horse  pasture).  This  is  the  com- 
bined name  of  two  land  grants.  It  is  in  River- 
side County. 

429 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


San  Jacinto  Vie  jo  (St.  Hyacinth  the  Old). 

San  Joaquin  (St.  Joachim).  See  pages  280  and 
342. 

Sanjon  (deep  ditch  or  slough).  Also  spelled 
zanjon. 

Sanjon  de  los  Moquelumnes  (Moquelumne 
slough). 

San  Jose  (St.  Joseph).    See  pages  168  and  342. 

San  Jose  de  Buenos  Aires  (St.  Joseph  of  good 
airs) . 

San  Jose  y  Sur  Chiquito  (St.  Joseph  and  little 
south) .  These  are  the  names  of  two  creeks  near 
Monterey. 

San  Juan  (St.  John),  the  name  of  a  small  town 
in  San  Benito  County  where  the  famous  Mission 
of  San  Juan  Bautista  is  situated,  of  a  picturesque 
stretch  of  road  running  from  that  place  to  Mon- 
terey known  as  the  San  Juan  Grade,  and  of  a 
land  grant  in  Sacramento  County.  In  the  spring 
time  one  may  drive  for  many  miles  along  the 
San  Juan  Grade  through  variegated  beds  of  wild 
flowers  which  line  the  road  on  either  side. 

San  Juan  Bautista  (St.  John  the  Baptist). 
See  pages  154  and  342. 

San  Juan  Cajon  de  Santa  Ana  (St.  John  can- 
yon, literally  "box,"  of  St.  Anne) .  Deep  canyons 
were  often  called  cajones  (boxes) . 

San  Juan  Capistrano.    See  page  37. 

San  Juan  Point  (St.  John  Point).  See  page  84. 
430 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


San  Julian  (St.  Julian).  This  seems  to  have 
been  a  favorite  name  for  saints,  since  there  were 
twelve  who  bore  it.  Only  two,  however,  are  of 
special  importance,  St.  Julian  Hospitator,  and 
St.  Julian  of  Rimini.  The  first  had  the  fearful 
misfortune  to  kill  his  own  father  and  mother 
through  an  error,  and  to  make  reparation,  he 
built  a  hospital  on  the  bank  of  a  turbulent 
stream  in  which  many  persons  had  been 
drowned.  "He  constantly  ferried  travelers  over 
the  river  without  reward,  and,  one  stormy  night 
in  winter,  when  it  seemed  that  no  boat  could 
cross  the  stream,  he  heard  a  sad  cry  from  the 
opposite  bank.  He  went  over,  and  found  a 
youth,  who  was  a  leper,  dying  from  cold  and 
weariness.  In  spite  of  his  disease  the  saint  car- 
ried him  over,  and  bore  him  in  his  arms  to  his 
own  bed,  and  he  and  his  wife  tended  him  till 
morning,  when  the  leper  rose  up,  and  his  face 
was  transformed  into  that  of  an  angel,  and  he 
said:  'Julian,  the  Lord  hath  sent  me  to  thee; 
for  thy  penitence  is  accepted,  and  thy  rest  is  near 
at  hand'  ....  St.  Julian  is  patron  saint 
of  ferrymen  and  boatmen,  of  travelers  and  of 
wandering  minstrels."  Little  is  known  of  St. 
Julian  of  Rimini  except  that  he  "endured  a  pro- 
longed martyrdom  with  unfailing  courage." — 
(Stories  of  the  Saints.)  See  page  342. 

San  Justo  (St.  Justus).  Little  authentic  is 
431 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 

XT 


known  of  this  saint,  except  that  he  was  the 
fourth  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  died  there 
about  627. 

San  Leandro  (St.  Leander).    See  page  238. 

San  Lorenzo  (St.  Lawrence).    See  page  238. 

San  Lucas  (St.  Luke).    See  page  162. 

San  Luis  Gonzaga  (St.  Louis  Gonzaga).  This 
saint,  also  known  as  St.  Aloysius,  was  the  son  of 
a  noble  Italian  lady,  the  Marchese  di  Castiglione. 
"He  entered  the  Society  of  Jesus  when  not  yet 
eighteen  years  old,  and  became  eminently  dis- 
tinguished for  his  learning,  piety  and  good 
works.  He  died  at  Rome  in  1591  of  fever,  which 
he  contracted  while  nursing  the  sick." — (Stories 
of  the  Saints.) 

San  Luisito  (little  St.  Louis)  Creek.  It  is  in  San 
Luis  Obispo  County. 

San  Luis  Obispo  (St.  Louis  the  Bishop).  See 
pages  119  and  342. 

San  Luis  Rey  (St.  Louis  the  king).  See  page 
35. 

San  Martial  (St.  Martial)  was  the  Bishop  of 
Limoges,  and  is  especially  noted  for  the  conver- 
sions he  accomplished,  in  particular  that  of  the 
beautiful  virgin  St.  Valerie,  who  suffered  mar- 
tyrdom for  her  faith. 

-San  Marcos  (St.  Mark).  "This  evangelist  was 
a  disciple  of  St.  Peter.  He  founded  the  church  at 
Alexandria,  and  on  account  of  his  miracles  the 

432 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


heathen  accused  him  of  being  a  magician;  and 
at  length,  while  celebrating  the  feast  of  their  god 
Serapis,  they  seized  St.  Mark  and  dragged  him 
through  the  streets  until  he  died.  Then  imme- 
diately there  fell  a  storm  of  hail,  and  a  tempest 
of  lightning  came  with  it  which  destroyed  his 
murderers."  His  remains  were  removed  in  A.  D. 
815  to  Venice,  where  the  splendid  cathedral  of 
St.  Mark  was  erected  over  them.  Many  legends 
are  told  of  this  saint,  among  them  the  story  of 
his  having  saved  the  city  of  Venice  from  destruc- 
tion by  demons,  who  raised  a  great  storm  and 
came  in  a  boat  for  that  purpose,  but  were  driven 
away  by  St.  Mark,  who  went  to  meet  them  and 
held  up  a  cross. 

San  Marino,  near  Los  Angeles,  was  named  for 
a  saint  who  was  born  in  Dalmatia  in  the  fourth 
century.  He  was  a  poor  laborer  and  was  em- 
ployed in  the  reconstruction  of  the  bridge  of 
Rimini.  His  piety  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
Bishop  of  Brescia,  who  ordained  him  as  a  dea- 
con. Marino  retired  to  Mount  Titano,  and  gave 
himself  up  entirely  to  religious  practices.  His 
cell  attracted  others,  and  this  was  the  origin  of 
the  city  and  republic  of  San  Marino,  the  smallest 
republic  in  the  world. 

San  Martin  (St.  Martin).  See  pages  182  and 
342. 

San  Mateo  (St.  Matthew).  See  page  238. 
433 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


San  Mateo  Point  (St.  Matthew  Point).  See 
page  84. 

San  Miguel  (St.  Michael).    See  page  122. 

San  Miguelito  (little. St.  Michael). 

San  Nicolas  (St.  Nicholas).  Little  that  is  au- 
thentic can  be  obtained  concerning  the  history 
of  this  saint,  but  there  are  numerous  legends  of 
miracles  performed  by  him,  several  of  them  con- 
nected with  raising  children  from  the  dead,  and 
similar  stories.  St.  Nicholas  is  the  chief  patron 
of  Russia  and  of  many  sea-port  towns,  and  is  the 
protector  against  robbers  and  violence.  He  is 
also  the  patron  of  children  and  schoolboys  in 
particular,  and  of  poor  maidens,  sailors,  trav- 
elers, and  merchants. 

San  Onofre  (St.  Onophrius).    See  page  84. 

San  Pablo  (St.  Paul).    See  page  239. 

San  Pasqual  (St.  Pascal).  This  saint  was  a 
Spanish  peasant,  born  in  Aragon  in  1540.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Franciscan  order,  and  was 
remarkable  for  his  unfailing  courtesy  and  char- 
ity to  the  poor. 

San  Pedro  (St.  Peter).    See  page  84.     . 

San  Pedro,  Santa  Margarita,  y  las  Gallinas 
(St.  Peter,  St.  Margaret,  and  the  chickens),  com- 
bined names  of.  three  land  grants. 

San  Quentin  (St.  Quentin).  See  pages  239  and 
342. 

San  Rafael  (St.  Raphael) .    See  page  224. 
434 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


San  Ramon  (St.  Raymond) .    See  page  240. 

San  Simeon  (St.  Simeon).    See  page  128. 

San  (more  properly  Santo)  Tomds  Aquinas. 
San  Tomas  Aquinas  is  the  name  of  a  public 
highway  which  runs  southward  from  the  Payne 
road  in  Santa  Clara  County.  It  was  named  from 
the  creek,  which  rises  in  the  Santa  Cruz  Moun- 
tains and  empties  into  Campbell  Creek.  The  tit- 
ular saint  of  this  stream,  Santo  Tomas  Aquinas, 
was  born  in  the  little  city  of  Aquinas  near 
Naples,  Italy.  He  was  of  noble  descent,  and 
nearly  allied  to  some  of  the  royal  houses  of  Italy. 
He  was  born  in  1225,  and,  in  spite  of  the  oppo- 
sition of  his  family,  entered  the  Dominican 
Order  in  his  seventeenth  year.  He  became  a 
profound  theological  scholar,  and  accomplished 
an  amazing  amount  of  literary  work,  through 
which  he  exerted  a  tremendous  influence  on  re- 
ligious thought.  He  was  canonized  in  1323. 

Santa  Ana  (St.  Anne).    See  page  60. 

Santa  Ana  y  Quien  Sabe  (St.  Anne  and  "who 
knows"),  combined  names  of  two  land  grants. 

Santa  Anita  (St.  Annie,  or  little  St.  Anne). 

Santa  Barbara.    See  page  89. 

Santa  Calalina  (St.  Catherine).    See  page  63. 

Santa  Clara  (St.  Clara).    See  page  167. 

Santa  Clara  del  Norte  (St.  Clara  of  the  north). 

Santa  Cruz  (holy  cross) .    See  page  153. 
435 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Santa  Cruz  Island.    See  page  101. 

Santa  Fe  (holy  faith),  near  Los  Angeles.  See 
page  342. 

Santa  Gertrudis  (St.  Gertrude).  St.  Gertrude 
the  Great  was  a  benedictine  nun  and  mystic 
writer,  born  in  Germany  in  1256.  She  is  espe- 
cially noted  for  her  learning  and  religious  writ- 
ings, all  of  which  were  written  in  Latin.  She 
was  charitable  to  the  poor  and  had  the  gift  of 
miracles. 

Santa  Inez,  also  spelled  Ynez  (St.  Agnes).  See 
pages  112  and  342. 

Santa  Lucia  (St.  Lucy).    See  page  129. 

Santa  Margarita  (St.  Margaret) .    See  page  129. 

Santa  Margarita  y  las  Flores  (St.  Margaret  and 
the  flowers),  combined  names  of  two  land 
grants. 

Santa  Maria  (St.  Mary).    See  page  115. 

Santa  Monica  (St.  Monica).    See  page  62. 

Santa  Paula  (St.  Paula).    See  page  115. 

Santa  Rita  is  the  name  of  a  village  in  Monterey 
County,  near  Salinas.  The  patron  saint  of  this 
place  was  born  at  Rocca  Porena  in  1386  and  died 
in  1456.  Her  feast  day  is  May  22,  and  she  is 
represented  as  holding  roses,  or  roses  and  figs. 
When  but  twelve  years  of  age  Santa  Rita  was 
compelled  by  her  parents  to  marry  a  cruel,  ill- 
tempered  man.  This  man  was  murdered,  and 
after  his  death,  his  widow  desired  to  enter  the 

436 


convent  at  Cascia,  but  was  at  first  refused  admis- 
sion on  account  of  her  widowhood.  She  was 
finally  received,  however,  and  so  many  miracles 
were  reported  to  have  been  performed  at  her 
intercession  that  she  was  given  in  Spain  the 
title  of  La  Santa  de  los  Imposibles  (the  saint  of 
the  impossibilities). 

Santa  Rosa  (St.  Rose).    See  page  250. 

Santa  Susana  (St.  Susanna).  This  saint,  who 
was  remarkable  for  her  beauty  and  learning, 
was  a  relative  of  the  Emperor  Diocletian,  who 
desired  her  as  a  wife  for  his  adopted  son  Max- 
imus.  St.  Susanna,  having  made  a  vow  of  chas- 
tity, refused  this  offer,  and  Diocletian,  angered 
by  her  refusal,  sent  an  executioner  to  kill  her  in 
her  own  house. 

Santa  Teresa  was  born  at  Avila  in  Castile, 
March  28.  1515.  During  her  earliest  youth, 
through  reading  the  lives  of  the  saints  and  mar- 
tyrs, she  formed  a  desire  to  take  up  religious 
work.  In  accordance  with  this  desire,  at  the  age 
of  twenty  years,  she  entered  the  convent  of  Car- 
melites, and  chose  as  her  life  work  the  reform- 
ing of  the  order  of  Mount  Carmel,  as  well  as  the 
establishment  of  a  number  of  convents  for  men. 
She  revived  the  early  rule  in  the  Order  of  going 
barefoot.  Santa  Teresa  had  distinct  literary 
gifts,  and  her  history  of  her  life  is  a  work  of  ab- 
sorbing interest,  which  is  still  read  with  gen- 

437 


PLAGE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 

XT 


uine  pleasure  by  students  of  the  literature  of 
Spain.  She  attained  a  position  of  such  author- 
ity in  that  country  that  Philip  III  chose  her  for 
its  second  patron  saint,  ranking  her  next  to 
Santiago  (St.  James). 

Santa  Ynez.  See  Santa  Inez.  See  pages  112 
and  342. 

Santa  Ysabel,  also  spelled  Isabel  (St.  Isabella 
of  France),  who  founded  the  convent  at  Long- 
champs,  was  sister  to  the  saintly  King  Louis. 
She  was  educated  with  her  brother  by  their 
mother,  Blanche  of  Castile.  St.  Isabel  dedicated 
her  convent  to  the  "humility  of  the  Blessed  Vir- 
gin," and  gave  to  it  all  her  dowry.  As  long  as 
the  convent  existed  the  festival  of  this  saint  was 
celebrated  wih  great  splendor. —  (Stories  of  the 
Saints.) 

Santiago  de  Santa  Ana  (St.  James  of  St. 
Anne).  Land  grant. 

San  Timoteo  (St.  Timothy).  St.  Timothy  was 
the  beloved  disciple  of  St.  Paul,  whom  he  ac- 
companied on  many  journeys.  It  is  said  that  he 
was  Bishop  of  Ephesus,  until  at  the  age  of  eighty 
years  he  suffered  the  cruel  fate  of  being  beaten 
to  death  by  pagans. 

San  Tomaso  (St.  Thomas)  was  a  Galilean 
fisherman  and  one  of  the  apostles.  "So  great 
was  his  incredulity  that  he  has  always  been  re- 
membered for  that  rather  than  for  his  other 

438 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


characteristics,"  and  it  was  in  this  way  that  the 
familiar  expression  "a  doubting  Thomas"  arose. 
At  the  time  of  the  ascension  of  the  Virgin, 
Thomas  refused  to  believe  in  the  event,  and  the 
legend  relates  that  in  order  to  convince  him  the 
Virgin  dropped  her  girdle  to  him  from  the  heav- 
ens. Three  other  saints  also  bear  this  name, 
St.  Thomas  a  Becket,  the  celebrated  English 
historical  character;  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  a 
grandnephew  of  Frederick  I  and  a  man  of  great 
learning;  and  St.  Thomas  the  Almoner,  who 
was  so  charitable  that  "as  a  child  he  would  take 
off  his  own  clothes  to  give  away  to  children  in 
the  street."  It  is  related  of  the  last  named  that 
he  wore  the  same  hat  for  twenty-six  years,  and 
that  his  whole  life  was  "but  a  grand  series  of 
beneficent  deeds.  When  the  hour  of  his  death 
came  he  had  given  away  everything  except  the 
pallet  on  which  he  lay,  and  this  was  to  be  given 
to  a  jailer  who  had  assisted  him  in  executing 
his  benevolent  designs."  There  is  a  remarkably 
beautiful  picture  of  him  by  Murillo,  representing 
him  as  a  child,  dividing  his  clothing  among  four 
ragged  little  ones. 

San  Vicente  (St.  Vincent).  Three  saints  bear 
this  name.  St.  Vincent  of  Saragosa  was  mar- 
tyred during  the  persecution  of  the  Christians 
by  Diocletian.  Legend  has  it  that  his  remains 
were  guarded  by  crows  or  ravens,  and  when  in 

439 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


the  year  1147  Alonzo  I  removed  them  to  Lisbon, 
two  crows  accompanied  the  vessel,  one  at  the 
prow  and  one  at  the  stern.  In  pictures  St.  Vin- 
cent is  always  represented  as  accompanied  by  a 
crow  or  raven.  St.  Vincent  Ferraris  was  born  at 
Valencia  in  1357.  He  was  a  celebrated  preacher 
and  missionary,  and  "so  moved  the  hearts  of 
his  hearers  that  he  was  often  obliged  to  pause 
that  the  sobbing  and  weeping  might  subside." 
The  third  of  this  name,  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  was 
the  son  of  a  Gascon  farmer,  and  his  charities 
were  so  various  and  so  many  as  to  cause  his 
name  to  be  revered  by  all,  irrespective  of  reli- 
gious differences.  He  established  the  Hospital 
La  Madeleine  for  the  Magdalens  of  Paris,  a 
foundling  hospital,  and  numerous  other  char- 
ities. In  truth,  the  practical  good  done  by  this 
man  during  his  life  makes  him  well  worthy  of 
the  title  of  "saint." 

San  Ysidro.    See  San  Isidro.    See  page  342. 

Saticoy.    See  page  85. 

Sauce  (willow) .  La  Canada  de  los  Sauces  (the 
valley  of  the  willows)  is  in  Santa  Barbara 
County. 

Saucito  (little  willow). 

Saucos  (alder-trees). 

Sausal  (willow-grove) .  Properly  spelled  Sau- 
zal. 

Sausalito  (little  willow-grove).  See  page  222. 
440 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


Sausal  Redondo  (round  willow-grove).  See 
Redondo  Beach,  page  82. 

El  Segundo  (the  second),  so  called  because  at 
that  place  the  Standard  Oil  Company's  second 
refinery  on  the  Pacific  Coast  is  located.  Modern. 

Sequoia,  the  giant  tree  of  California,  was 
named  for  the  Cherokee,  Sequoyah,  who  in- 
vented an  alphabet  for  his  tribe.  Sequoyah,  also 
known  as  George  Gist,  or  Guess,  was  the  son  of 
a  white  man  and  a  Cherokee  woman  of  mixed 
blood,  and  was,  after  all,  more  white  man  than 
Indian.  He  had  a  natural  genius  for  mechanical 
invention,  and,  having  been  crippled  for  life  in 
a  hunting  accident,  he  occupied  his  time  in  de- 
vising the  alphabet,  which  was  accepted  with 
such  enthusiasm  by  his  people  that  every  Cher- 
okee, of  whatever  age,  had  learned  to  read  and 
write  in  a  few  months.  Sequoia,  although  not  a 
place  name,  is  given  here  for  the  interest  it  may 
have  for  tourists  and  other  persons  unac- 
quainted with  the  origin  of  the  name  of  the  fa- 
mous "big  trees." 

Serena  (serene).  See  page  115.  This  name  is 
spelled  on  some  maps  as  Sereno,  but  is  called 
Serena  by  the  people  of  the  neighborhood. 

Serra  (a  surname).  See  page  85.  On  the  pages 
of  the  history  of  California,  no  name  shines  with 
a  whiter  luster  than  that  of  Junipero  Serra.  With 
his  scholarly  attainments,  he  might,  had  he 

441 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


chosen  to  remain  in  his  own  land,  have  aspired 
to  the  highest  honors  in  the  church,  perhaps 
even  to  the  Papacy,  but  he  chose,  instead,  to 
leave  all  this  behind  him  and  to  devote  the  rest 
of  his  days  to  the  upraising  of  the  heathen  in 
far  distant  America.  Feeble  in  body  but  strong 
of  soul,  he  suffered  every  hardship  without  com- 
plaint, and  in  the  hour  of  his  death  it  was  found 
that  he  had  given  away  everything  that  he  pos- 
sessed to  the  poor  Indians,  even  to  his  under- 
clothing, which  he  removed  for  the  purpose,  so 
that  he  might  not  die  in  it.  So  strong  was  the 
power  of  his  will  that  he  rose  from  his  bed  but 
a  few  hours  before  the  end,  and  walked  unaided 
into  the  chapel,  where  he  joined,  "in  a  high  clear 
voice,"  in  the  singing  of  his  own  death  mass.  It 
is  fortunate  that  his  devoted  companion,  Father 
Palou,  has  left  a  complete  record  of  his  life  and 
death,  to  serve  as  an  inspiration  to  all  Califor- 
nians.  This  priceless  document,  yellowed  with 
age,  is  now  in  the  care  of  the  parish  church  at 
Monterey. 

Sespe,  named  for  a  former  Chumash  Indian 
village  said  by  Indians  to  have  been  on  Sespe 
Creek,  in  Ventura  County. 

Shasta.    See  page  255. 

Sierra  (saw,  saw-toothed  mountains).  See 
page  299. 

442 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


Sierra  Madre  (mother  mountains).  See  page 
299. 

Sierra  Morena  (brown  range)  is  the  name  of  a 
spur  of  the  Coast  Range  commencing  about  ten 
miles  south  of  San  Francisco  and  running 
through  San  Mateo  County  into  Santa  Clara 
County.  This  mountain  range,  which  contains 
some  very  charming  scenery,  may  have  been  so 
named  on  account  of  its  color,  or  it  may  be  the 
namesake  of  the  Sierra  Morena  of  Spain.  The 
name  is  sometimes  spelled  Moreno,  and  one  of 
the  possibilities  is  that  it  was  named  for  the 
pioneer  Moreno  family. 

Sierra  Nevada  (snowy  mountains) .  See  page 
299. 

Sierra  Pelona  (bald  mountain  range)  is  in  Los 
Angeles  County. 

Simi,  in  Ventura  County,  is  an  Indian  place 
name. 

Siskiyou.    See  page  260. 

Sis  Quoc,  a  town  and  river  in  Santa  Barbara 
County,  named  from  Souscoc,  a  former  Chu- 
mash  village  near  the  Santa  Inez  Mission. 

Sobrante  (residue,  surplus),  a  term  applied  to 
a  piece  of  land  left  over  after  measuring  off 
land  grants. 

Sobrante  de  San  Jacinto,  residue  of  the  grant 
called  St.  Hyacinth. 

Solano.    See  page  274. 
443 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Soledad  (solitude).    See  page  151. 

Somis,  in  Ventura  County,  is  an  Indian  place 
name. 

Sonoma.    See  page  245. 

Sonora.    See  page  335. 

Soquel,  or  Souquel,  was  probably  derived 
from  Usacalis,  a  Costanoan  Indian  village  sit- 
uated in  1819  within  ten  miles  of  the  Santa  Cruz 
Mission. 

Soscol.    See  Suscol. 

Sotoyome,  a  former  Indian  village  near 
Healdsburg.  The  derivation  of  the  name  is  un- 
known. 

Stanislaus.    See  page  281. 

Suerte,  a  word  of  many  meanings  (luck, 
chance,  lot  of  ground) .  In  the  apportionment  of 
land  by  the  Spaniards  a  suerte  was  a  cultivable 
lot  of  land  granted  to  colonists  near  the  pueblos 
and  within  the  four  leagues  assigned  to  the 
pueblo.  Each  suerte  consisted  of  two  hundred 
varas  of  length  and  two  hundred  of  breadth,  a 
vara  being  about  thirty-three  inches.  Thus  one 
suerte  is  one  lot  (of  land),  and  not,  as  one  writer 
has  translated  it,  "one  chance."  Dos  suertes  is 
two  lots. 

Suisun.    See  page  275. 

Sunol  (a  surname) .    See  pages  240  and  342. 

Sur  (south).  For  Point  Sur  see  page  162.  In 
444 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


this  vicinity  the  scenery  is  remarkably  pictur- 
esque. 

Del  Sur  (of  the  south)  is  in  Los  Angeles 
County. 

Suscol  was  the  name  of  a  Moquelumnan  tribe 
who  lived  in  a  village  on  the  east  bank  of  Napa 
River.  See  Soscol. 

Tahoe.    See  page  311. 

Talega  (bag,  or  sack)  Canyon.  It  is  in  San 
Diego  County. 

Tallac,  an  Indian  word,  meaning  not  ascer- 
tained. 

Tamalpais.    See  page  215. 

Tambo  (South  American  for  inn,  or  hotel),  so 
called  because  in  early  days  there  was  a  stop- 
ping place  in  this  vicinity  for  travelers  crossing 
the  continent.  Near  Marysville. 

Tasajara,  the  name  of  a  resort  near  Monterey, 
is  probably  a  corruption  of  tasajera,  a  place 
where  jerked  meat  is  hung  up  to  cure.  Tassa- 
jara  in  Contra  Costa  County,  and  Tasajero  Creek 
in  Contra  Costa  and  Alameda  Counties  are  prob- 
ably different  spellings  of  the  same  word. 

Tecolote  (owl). 

Tehachapi.    See  page  296. 

Tehama.    See  page  271. 

El  Tejon  (the  badger)  is  in  Kern  County. 
Tejon  Pass  is  badger  pass. 

445 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Tembladera  (quagmire)  Slough.  It  is  in  Mon- 
terey County. 

Temblor  (earthquake)  Range  is  in  Kern 
County. 

Temecula.  See  page  49.  Temecula  is  in  the 
southern  part  of  Riverside  County. 

Temescal  (sweathouse) .    See  page  71. 

Tenaya  Peak,  in  Yosemite  Valley,  named  for 
Ten-ei-ya,  chief  of  the  Yosemite  Indians. 

Tequisquite  is  an  Aztec  word,  probahly  mean- 
ing salt-petre. 

Terra  Bella  and  Terra  Buena,  in  Tulare  and 
Sutter  Counties,  are  perhaps  misspellings  of 
tierra  bella  (beautiful  land)  and  tierra  buena 
(good  land). 

Tia  Juana.    See  page  49. 

Tiburon  (shark) .    See  page  224. 

Tierra  Seca  (dry  land) . 

Tocaloma.    See  page  240. 

Todos  Santos  (all  saints) . 

Todos  Santos  y  San  Antonio  (all  saints  and 
St.  Anthony) . 

Tolenos,  in  Yolo  County,  is  probably  a  mis- 
spelling of  Yolenos,  from  the  Indian  Yolo.  See 
page  274. 

Toluca,  near  Los  Angeles,  is  probably  derived 
from  Tolujaa,  or  Tilijaes,  a  tribe  among  the 
original  ones  at  San  Juan  Capistrano  in  1776, 

446 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


although  there  is  also  a  place  named  Toluca  in 
Mexico. 

Tomales.    See  page  241. 

Topo  Creek  (gopher  creek). 

Toro  (bull).    See  pages  85  and  163. 

Toros  (bulls). 

Tortuga  (turtle,  tortoise). 

Trabuco  (blunderbuss,  a  sort  of  wide- 
mouthed  gun).  See  page  85.  Trabuco  Canyon 
is  in  Orange  County. 

Trampa  del  Oso  (bear  trap). 

Trampas  (traps,  snares),  perhaps  named  in 
reference  to  traps  which  were  in  common  use 
among  the  Indians  to  catch  game,  as  well  as 
their  human  enemies.  In  Contra  Costa  County. 

Tranquillon  Mountain  is  in  Santa  Barbara 
County.  Tranquillon  is  a  mixture  of  two  kinds 
of  grain,  such  as  wheat  and  rye,  called  in  English 
"mastlin,"  or  "maslin."  The  origin  of  the  name 
in  this  case  has  not  been  verified. 

Tres  Ojos  de  Agua   (three  springs  of  water). 

Tres  Pinos.    See  page  163. 

Tres  Vias  (three  roads)  is  in  Butte  County. 
It  refers  to  three  railroad  tracks  which  encircle 
a  triangular  piece  of  ground. 

Trigo  (wheat)  is  128  miles  from  Stockton. 

Trinity  County.    See  page  262. 

Trinidad  Bay  and  town.    See  page  262. 

Triunfo  (triumph)  is  in  Ventura  County.  This 
449 


PLACE      NAMES      OF       CALIFORNIA 


is  a  modern  real  estate  name,  and  has  no  his- 
torical significance  that  can  be  discovered. 

Tropico  (tropical),  near  Los  Angeles. 

Truckee.    See  page  310. 

Tulare  (place  of  rushes) .    See  page  288. 

Tularcitos  (little  rushes),  little  Tulare  ranch. 

Tulucay  Rancho,  near  Napa  State  Hospital,  is 
derived  from  the  Indian  word  tuluka  (red). 

Tunitas  is  a  place  near  San  Francisco  on  the 
Ocean  Shore  Road.  The  tunita  is  a  beach  plant 
sometimes  called  the  "beach  apple."  Tuna  is 
the  Spanish  name  for  the  common  cactus  known 
as  "prickly  pear?' 

Tuolumne.    See  page  317. 

Tustin  (a  surname),  a  place  in  Orange 
County,  near  Santa  Ana.  Fernando  Tustin  was 
one  of  the  early  settlers,  and  came  to  California 
in  1845. 

Ukiah.    See  page  267. 

Urrutia  Canyon  is  in  Fresno  County.  Urrutia 
is  a  family  name. 

Usal,  in  Mendocino  County.  This  is  an  Indian 
word,  derived  from  yosal,  or  yusal,  the  name  of 
a  tribe  of  Pomos,  living  on  the  coast  from  Usal 
northward. 

Las  Uvas  (the  grapes).    See  page  163. 

Vacaville.     See  page  296. 

Valencia  Peak,  near  San  Luis  Obispo.  Va- 
lencia is  a  surname. 

450 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


Valle  (valley). 

Vallecito  (little  valley)  is  the  name  of  places 
in  Calaveras  and  San  Diego  Counties.  See  page 
335. 

Los  Vallecitos  de  San  Marcos  (the  little  val- 
leys of  St.  Mark). 

Valle  jo  (a  surname).    See  pages  241  and  343. 

Valle  Mar  (sea  valley),  on  the  Ocean  Shore, 
near  San  Francisco.  Improper  construction.  It 
should  be  Valle  del  Mar  (valley  of  the  sea). 

Valle  de  San  Felipe  (valley  of  St.  Philip). 

Dos  Valles  (two  valleys). 

Valle  de  San  Jose  (valley  of  St.  Joseph) . 

Valle  Verde  (green  valley).    See  page  85. 

Valle  Vista  (valley  view).  See  page  85.  Im- 
proper construction.  It  should  be  Vista  del  Valle 
(view  of  the  valley) . 

Vega,  an  open  plain,  or  tract  of  level  land. 
Vega  is  also  a  surname. 

Las  Vegas  (the  plains) .  Fremont  refers  to  the 
vegas  of  the  Southern  Central  Valley  in  these 
terms:  "We  encamped  in  the  midst  of  another 
very  large  basin,  at  a  camping  ground  called  Las 
Vegas,  a  term  which  the  Spaniards  use  to  signify 
fertile  or  marshy  plains,  in  contradistinction  to 
llanos,  which  they  apply  to  dry  and  sterile 
plains." 

Vega  del  Rio  del  Pdjaro  (plain  of  the  river  of 
the  bird). 

451 


PLACE      NAMES      OF      CALIFORNIA 


Venado  (deer)  is  in  Colusa  County. 

Ventana  (window),  the  name  of  some  volcanic 
cones  and  a  creek  in  the  Sur  country  in  Mon- 
terey County.  It  was  so  called  from  an  opening 
in  one  of  the  hills  which  resembled  a  window. 

Ventura  (fortune).    See  page  115. 

Verano  (summer)  is  west  of  Napa. 

Verde  (green),  twelve  miles  from  San  Luis 
Obispo. 

Verdugo  (a  surname  in  this  case).  See  page  86. 

Los  Vergeles  (flower  gardens,  beautiful  or- 
chards) . 

Vicente  Point  (Point  Vincent).     See  page  86. 

Viejas  (old  women)  Mountain  and  Valley,  in 
San  Diego  County.  It  is  quite  likely  that  this 
name  was  given  because  the  Spaniards  saw 
some  old  Indian  women  in  the  neighborhood, 
but  this  is  merely  conjecture. 

Viento  (wind)  is  in  San  Bernardino  County. 

Las  Virgenes  (the  virgins).     See  page  343. 

Vista  (view),  in  San  Diego  County. 

Bella  Vista  (beautiful  view). 

Buena  Vista  (good  view). 

Chula  Vista  (charming  view).    See  page  44. 

Vista  Grande  (large  view)  is  in  San  Mateo 
County. 

Monte  Vista  (mountain  view) .  Improper  con- 
struction. It  should  be  Vista  del  Monte  (view  of 
the  mountain). 

452 


THEIR      MEANING      AND      ROMANCE 


Rio  Vista  (river  view).  See  page  295.  Im- 
proper construction.  It  should  be  Vista  del  Rio 
(view  of  the  river). 

Vizcaino  Cape,  named  for  the  celebrated 
Spanish  explorer  Sebastian  Vizcaino,  who 
touched  at  various  points  on  the  California 
coast  in  the  year  1602. 

Volcdn  (volcano). 

Wahtoque  is  an  Indian  word  meaning  "pine 
nut,"  the  name  of  a  place  near  Fresno. 

Wawona,  in  Mariposa  County,  where  the  fa- 
mous "big  trees"  are  situated,  is  of  unknown 
origin.  It  does  not  appear  to  be  Indian. — (Kroe- 
ber.)  See  page  335. 

Weitchpec,  near  Hoopa  valley,  Humboldt 
County.  "The  Weitspekan  family  consisted  of 
the  Yurok  tribe  alone,  inhabiting  the  lower  Kla- 
math  River  and  adjacent  coast.  The  name  is 
adapted  from  Weitspekw,  the  name  of  a  spring 
in  the  village.  At  the  site  of  the  present  post- 
office  of  Weitchpec  was  one  of  the  most  pop- 
ulous Yurok  villages,  and  one  of  only  two  or 
three  at  which  both  the  Deerskin  dance  and  the 
Jumping  dance  were  held." — (A.  L.  Kroeber  in 
Handbook  of  American  Indians.) 

Yallo  Bally  Mountains.  The  two  peaks,  known 
as  North  and  South,  between  Trinity  and  Te- 
hama  Counties,  are  named  from  the  Wintun 
Indian  words  yola  (snow)  and  apparently  boli 

453 


THEIR   MEANING   AND   ROMANCE 


(spirit) ,  thus  meaning  "spirit  of  the  snow."  The 
belief  that  peaks  were  the  abode  of  spirits  was 
common  among  the  Indians  of  California.— 
(Kroeber.) 

Las  Yeguas  (the  mares) ,  referring  to  a  pasture 
where  mares  were  kept. 

Yerba  Buena  (good  herb).    See  page  207. 

Yokohl,  in  Tulare  County.  This  was  the  name 
of  a  Yokuts  tribe  formerly  living  on  Kaweah 
River,  Tulare  County. 

Yolo.    See  page  274. 

Yorba  (a  surname).  This  was  the  name  of 
one  of  Captain  Pages'  original  Catalan  volun- 
teers. Yorba  is  near  Los  Angeles. 

Yosemite  (grizzly  bear).    See  page  323. 

Yreka.    See  page  262. 

Yuba.    See  page  272. 

Yucaipe,  in  San  Bernardino  County,  is  an 
Indian  place  name. 

Zamora,  probably  named  for  the  province  of 
the  same  name  in  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Leon, 
in  Spain.  There  is  an  old  proverb  about  this 
place  which  says:  "No  se  gano  Zamora  en  una 
hora"  (Zamora  was  not  taken  in  an  hour),  the 
same  idea  as  expressed  in  "Rome  was  not  built 
in  a  day." 

Zanja  (ditch,  trench)  is  in  San  Bernardino 
County. 

Zapatero  Creek  (shoemaker  creek). 

Zapato  (shoe)  Canyon.  It  is  in  Fresno  County. 
454 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


(L.I 


Series  9482 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  UBfiARY  FAaLITV 


A     000762010     7 


